Historic events and circumstances converging on the Jewish communities of North America during the coming decade will be a major focus of the 48th annual General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations, Nov. 14-18 in Montreal, Quebec.
Priority items on this year’s agenda, according to Lawrence H. Williams of Cleveland, chairman of the GA Program Committee, include the Middle East peace process; expanding and allocating Federation financial resources in a time of inflation; demographic changes in the Jewish community and world Jewry in the 1980s.
Set in the continental atmosphere of Quebec, the 1979 GA will bring together leadership from 190 Federations in the United States and Canada. The GA which includes over 150 sessions covering every major aspect of contemporary Jewish life, has become the central convocation of the organized Jewish community in North America.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ASSEMBLY
CJF president Morton Mandel of Cleveland will be keynote speaker at the opening plenary session on Wednesday evening Nov. 14. Leon Dulzin, chairman of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives, will address the Assembly Thursday, Nov. 15, on “A New Era in Israel -Diaspora Relations,” The plenary on Saturday evening, Nov. 17, will be devoted to the challenge of meeting human needs in a period of inflation and recession.
Four forums are scheduled to provide in-depth examinations of selected issues. They include “Planning Challenges for the 1980s — The Impact of Population Shifts”; “The Continuing Quest for Peace in the Middle East”; “The Impact of Increased Soviet-Jewish Immigration on the Advocacy Movement,” and “Inside the Arab World.”
Other sessions will be devoted to Soviet-Jewish resettlement, Jewish singles, Federation-synagogue relations, government funding, Canadian and U.S. models for Jewish community service, Jewish culture, and a symposium on world Jewry led by Dr. Irwin Cotler of McGill University Law School who is the Scholar-in-Residence for the GA.
Several receptions flavored by the spirit of Quebec will be hosted by the Montreal Allied Jewish Community Services. A Women’s Division “Soiree Canadienne,” “Boit A Chanson” for college youth, and a general reception for all GA participants are among the social activities being planned by the Montreal Jewish community During a reception and tour of the Montreal Jewish community complex, an exhibit on the Holocaust and Yiddish theater performance will be available.
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