This past year, tuition subsidies to attend Jewish day schools and other educational programs were granted to approximately 2,300 students, for a total of more than $12 million for families with financial needs.

Prior to the start of the 2017/18 academic year, UJA Federation worked diligently and strategically to secure two extraordinarily generous donations, totaling $14 million over five years, to launch the TanenbaumCHAT Affordability Initiative. A previous study confirmed cost was the major deterrent for parents wanting to provide a Jewish education for their children. This initiative is already having a profound impact:

• Tuition lowered from $28,000 to $18,500
• Grade 9 enrollment had been projected at 175 students. Today, momentum is building and approximately 300 students are enrolled in grade 9 for September 2018
• More than 150 new students, who otherwise would not have attended Jewish day school, have enrolled in TanenbaumCHAT
• A larger student body means increased opportunities for new electives, sports and extra-curricular activities

The increase in enrollment is a powerful indicator of the desire for Jewish education in the GTA. UJA Federation will continue to lead the effort to ensure a vibrant Jewish learning experience remains accessible and affordable for all children in our community.

Every month, over 6,500 Jewish families—13,000 Jewish children—in the GTA eagerly await delivery of the mail in anticipation of receiving a very special blue and white envelope addressed to them. When it arrives, they joyfully rip it open to retrieve the treasure inside: their very own Jewish-themed PJ Library book to read with their families and keep forever.

PJ Library has proven to be such a popular and powerful initiative that, with your support, several complementary PJ programs have been launched in recent years to help young Jewish families discover and celebrate our rich heritage and develop connections to the wider Jewish community.

• PJ Partner Programs – 120 Jewish-themed family programs ran throughout the community with 30 partner organizations, including synagogues, supplementary schools, camps and the JCCs.
• PJ Plus - This partner program with the JCCs is a weekly parent or grandparent and tot class which uses PJ Library books as a springboard to experiential, interactive and hands-on Jewish learning activities.
• PJ Day School Partnership – This program provides a grant opportunity for Jewish Day Schools to create programming for PJ Library families to boost interest and enrollment in Jewish day schools. A total of 48 families attended a PJ Day School event and later enrolled their children at the day school.

UJA Federation invests in Hillel Ontario, as well as Jewish student life on university campuses across Ontario. Hillel strives to inspire every Jewish student in Ontario to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel. Through promoting Jewish identity, cultivating student leadership and embracing religious and political diversity in an inclusive environment, Hillel Ontario enriches the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. Hillel Ontario is now the largest regional Hillel system worldwide, with more than 3,000 students attending a Hillel event this past year.

Kochavim is a unique Hebrew summer camp experience which is part of the Jack and Pat Kay Centre Camp. Children in Kochavim are engaged in a regular camp schedule while learning to understand and speak Hebrew naturally, by listening to and speaking with their counsellors (Israeli Shlichim) and peers. The program is infused with Israeli culture, Hebrew songs, books and fun summer activities, all conducted in Hebrew. This past summer, more than 100 campers ages 3–14 participated in the program.

J. Academy Camp is a unique sleepover summer camp for children and teens ages 8–16 from the Russian-speaking Jewish community in the GTA. The camp aims to connect children and teens from Russian-speaking families, introduce them to the Jewish world’s culture and help them discover their Jewish roots through their personal engagements in various creative arts, interactive activities and sports. This year, 250 children will take part in J. Academy Camp.

Kachol Lavan is a unique Israeli, Hebrew-speaking supplementary school in the GTA with over 250 students. Kachol Lavan offer programs from ages 3–14 that focus on speaking, reading and writing Hebrew, as well as celebrating holidays and making meaningful connections to Israeli studies and culture.

Jewish arts, culture and heritage are a powerful portal to Jewish identity and engagement. UJA Federation provides an annual allocation to the Ashkenaz Festival; the Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre; the Sarah & Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre; Koffler Centre of the Arts; Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company; Committee for Yiddish; and the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Within the last year, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto has convened the first ever group of Jewish Arts, Cultural and Heritage organizations to create a strong unified presence within the GTA. There is an unprecedented spirit of collaboration among this vibrant coalition of cultural organizations in the GTA.

The OJA is the largest repository of Jewish life in Canada and its mandate is to acquire, preserve and make accessible the records that chronicle our province’s rich Jewish history. Through exhibitions, online engagement, programs, research assistance and walking tours, the OJA tells the stories of Ontario’s Jewish community. This past year, we accommodated 683 unique researcher requests and had more than 700 walking tour participants. The OJA reaches people of all ages: from children in the classroom, to scholars in the universities, to teens researching their grandparents, to adults discovering their family history, and to seniors re-connecting with their pasts.

Committed to excellence in Holocaust education and remembrance, the Neuberger engages over 50,000 students, educators and community members in the GTA and beyond through a vast array of innovative programs. including Holocaust Education Week, educator training, school visits and access to survivor testimony. Generating knowledge and understanding about the Holocaust, the Neuberger serves as a forum for dialogue about civil society for present and future generations. In 2017/18, more than 200 school groups visited the Centre.

UJA Federation’s Israel Engagement ShinShinim are pre-army Israeli teens who defer their army service for one year to volunteer. The ShinShinim informally teach about Israel through creative programs and challenging discussions. This year, they engaged more than 3,000 Jewish community members, in over 40 day schools, synagogues, supplementary schools, youth movements and summer camps across Toronto. With 25 ShinShinim in Toronto, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto has the largest delegation of ShinShinim in the world.

In its fifth year, the Diller Teen Fellows Program is UJA Federation’s premiere leadership development program for Jewish teens in grades 10 and 11. The goal of the Diller program is to develop future generations of active, effective leaders with a strong Jewish identity, commitment to the Jewish people, respect for pluralism and love of Israel. Partnering with teens from Eilat/Eilot, the Fellowship prides itself on producing strong lifelong Jewish teen leaders around the world, including 20 teens per year from Toronto.

Since its inception, Birthright Israel has sent almost 20,000 Torontonians to Israel, including 1,100 this past year. This free ten-day trip to Israel for Jewish young adults (ages 18–32) introduces them to key landmarks of historical, national, archeological and natural significance that have shaped, and continue to shape Jewish life. Most participants say that the trip was a life-changing experience that made them feel closer to Israel and their Jewish heritage.

The March of the Living is a two-week intensive educational experience that takes students in Grade 11 and 12 to Nazi concentration camps in Poland and then on to Israel. UJA Federation subsidizes the participation of students who cannot afford to pay the trip’s full fee. This April, 230 high school students and more than 215 adults participated in the March of the Living program.

Three Jewish community centres in the GTA—the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, the Prosserman JCC and the Schwartz/Reisman Centre—all serve as vibrant hubs of cultural, educational, athletic, recreational and communal activity. UJA Federation allocates funds annually for JCC programs that enrich the lives of 61,000 thousand community members by providing opportunities for social, cultural and educational activities.

J Roots is a supplementary Hebrew school with over 400 students. J Roots provides a wide range of innovative Jewish and Hebrew educational programming for children ages 3–14. J Roots focuses on Jewish Identity classes (Jewish holidays, values, history and literature), Hebrew literacy and conversation skills development, and Judaic Arts. Students become active participants of the Jewish community through engaging and inclusive school culture, meaningful school assemblies, holiday celebrations, field trips and involvement in citywide educational initiatives.

The Masa Israel Journey is the leader in immersive international experiences in Israel for young adults (18-30). Its diverse portfolio of study abroad, internship, service learning or Jewish studies programs help young adults grow as professionals and leaders. This year, more than 10,500 young adults participated in Masa Israel programs.

Amigour, JAFI’s leading sheltered housing company, provides housing to underserved populations in Israel. Almost 10,000 seniors live in 57 sheltered living complexes throughout Israel. For a nominal monthly fee, residents enjoy independent living in their own apartment within a tight-knit community. In addition to meeting the physical needs of this special population, Amigour provides a wide variety of social and cultural services that enhance the quality of life of its residents.

Youth Futures makes an impact, in ever-widening circles, in the Jewish (secular to ultra-Orthodox), Arab, Druze and Bedouin populations in 36 communities. Nearly 300 mentors work full-time with at-risk children and their parents, teachers and social welfare representatives, to oversee the children’s emotional, interpersonal and scholastic development. The impact ripples throughout communities and towns, reaching 10,000 people annually.

More than 500 immigrant soldiers who made Aliyah without their parents conclude their IDF service every year. The Wings program of the Jewish Agency supports their transition into civilian life for two years, starting two months before release from the army.

• 7,000 actions advancing Holocaust education, restitution and remembrance
• More than 35,000 actions supporting Israel and fighting the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement
• Supporting advocacy programming and distributing pro-Israel products at campuses nationwide through our campus partners at Hillel
• Increasing government funding for community security
• Resettling African asylum seekers in Israel to Canada
• Advocating for more affordable housing, especially for people with disabilities
• Banning genetic discrimination

These campaigns are invaluable in demonstrating to Canada’s leaders that thousands of Canadians share our priorities on issues ranging from antisemitism to Israel to Jewish poverty.

Today, the largest distributor of antisemitic propaganda in Canada is “Your Ward News,” a newspaper delivered free of charge, pushing vicious anti-Jewish stereotypes and conspiracy theories, as well as toxic racist and misogynist content.

Following CIJA’s efforts, the federal government took the rare step of banning the publishers from using Canada Post to deliver the paper or any other correspondence. When the publishers challenged this action, CIJA led the case against them at an independent tribunal, leading to hate crime charges being laid against both the publisher and the editor of the paper.

This is just one example of how you help support CIJA’s team of political, communications, and security experts in holding antisemites accountable and combating the spread of toxic hate. CIJA’s knowledge, multifaceted approach and constructive relationships with leaders across Canada are crucial in achieving results.

Jewish Federations of Canada – UIA is the national organization of Jewish Federations that responds to the needs of Jews across the globe, with offices in Jerusalem and Toronto. Nationally, it serves Jewish federated and non-federated communities with programs and services. In Israel, it is responsible for transforming campaign contributions into social welfare and educational programs. The fundamental themes guiding the organization are: connecting Canadian Jews in all size communities to each other, to Israel and world Jewry; strengthening Jewish identity and Israel engagement in the next generation; and financial resource development and leadership development.