Canada-Israel Committee

Canada-Israel Committee

Logo of the Canada-Israel Committee
Abbreviation	CIC
Type	Organizations based in Canada
Legal status	defunct
Purpose	advocate and public voice, educator and network
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Region served	Canada
Official language	English, French, Also Hebrew
Parent organization	Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy
Affiliations	UIA Federations Canada

The Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) was the official representative of the organized Canadian Jewish community on matters pertaining to Canada-Israel relations.

The Canada-Israel Committee maintained offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Israel, and was affiliated with the Quebec-Israel Committee. Its staff consisted of experts in government policy, communications, Arab-Israeli relations and Middle East affairs, and Canadian Middle East policy.

Due to a restructuring of Jewish community bodies, effective July 1, 2011, the CIC ceased operations and its responsibilities were assumed by its parent organization, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).

Funding

CIC was funded by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the advocacy arm of Jewish Federations of Canada - UIA.

Programming

The CIC was devoted to the promotion of increased understanding between the peoples of Canada and Israel. It is a non-partisan, voluntary, non-profit organization that enjoys the support of Canadians from all walks of life. In seeking to enhance Canada-Israel friendship, the CIC liaised with government, media, business and the academic sector, often submitting briefs and providing background analyses on matters of public policy. In addition, it sponsored seminars, conferences and other types of educational programming in Canada, and organized study missions to Israel.

Formational History

Jewish immigration of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries brought to Canada the diversity of Zionist thought, which led to the creation of several Zionist parties. Uniting these parties was difficult because each had considerable vertical integration, from international support to national and local activity.^[1] Only by way of World War II and the British Mandate of Palestine, was lasting cooperation achieved.^[1] A common solidarity to Israel united Canadian Jewry past its divisions, establishing a precedent that would lead to the beginning of the CIC.

The decades following the British Mandate saw a consolidation of Zionism in Canada. By the 1960s, several pan-Zionist organizations had been created, including the Zionist Public Affairs Committee, the Committee for Emergency Aid to Israel, and the Joint Public Relations Committee. Most of these groups were maintained on an ad hoc basis, often emerging in response to significant events in Israel.^[1]

In 1967, the Joint Public Relations Committee evolved into the Canada-Israel Committee.^[1] The new committee was authorized by public mandate to represent Israeli interests before the Canadian Parliament, public, and media. But most importantly, the CIC was designed to link Canadian Jews to the halls of power in Ottawa.

Early Years

The CIC underwent difficulties in its first years of operation. It was briefly disbanded in 1971 when its funding partners could not reconcile differing visions. Later in 1971, the CIC was restored. Under the leadership of Myer Bick, the CIC secured funding from B’nai Brith and hired personnel at its Montreal location.^[1] The Canadian Jewish Congress and the Canadian Zionist Federation later became funding partners to the CIC.^[1]

The 1973 Yom Kippur War compelled the CIC to magnify its reach to better service Israel in its time of need. It added a French-speaking division at its Montreal office and launched new offices in Toronto and Ottawa.^[1] The CIC was thrust to the forefront of policy making by Canada’s desire to support Israel in the conflict. Because the war placed the CIC at the epicenter of Canadian decision making, the committee used its newfound influence to advance an Israel-centric foreign policy within Canada.^[1] The CIC’s Toronto office performed Middle East research and published pertinent information to the news media, and the Ottawa branch focused lobbying efforts on the Canadian Parliament.^[2]

Activity

CIC lobbying efforts directed toward the Canadian federal government came in a variety of arrangements. Most popular among these were mailed letters, petitions, and phone calls to members of parliament. The CIC further employed “advertisements, demonstrations, and whisper campaigns…”^[2] With the intent to brief government officials, the CIC published a biweekly communiqué entitled The Middle East Digest to members of Parliament and senior staff. Widely regarded as reputable, the brief examined Middle Eastern current events, ongoing Canadian policy, and suggested recommendations moving forward.^[2] The brief, tailored for busy members of Parliament (MPs), was professionally designed with analysis both on Israel and the larger Middle East. The CIC hoped to garner additional support for Israel amongst MPs with the convenience of its briefs. Moreover, the CIC invited select MPs and members of the media to attend annual trips to Israel.^[2]CIC outreach to back-benchers and new MPs was personalized to parallel the values of Canadian parties with which it interacted. Reaching out to new MPs was seen as a generational investment in support for Israel. Doing this allowed the CIC to build and sustain ties across political persuasions.^[1] The CIC firmly believed that the backbenchers of today could become the Prime Ministers of tomorrow. Regardless of which party held power, the CIC sought enduring positive Canada-Israel relations.^[1]

The CIC made great strides to cultivate an image of reliability and expertise with the Department of External Affairs. On policy relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the CIC used its relations with the Department to steer policy decisions. Former Department officials attested to the CIC’s ability to shape policy, especially when Israel faced external conflict.^[1] The CIC met several times per year with cabinet officials and occasionally with the prime minister. Lobbies were sent out most consistently to the Secretary of State for External Affairs, and depending on developments in the Middle East, would meet through more informal channels.^[1]

To produce a government more receptive to its lobbying, the CIC issued soft warnings to MPs who voted counter to their positions. These warnings included reminding MPs the strength of individual Jewish voters in crucial swing districts and the financial power held by Jewish elites. The CIC was a reluctant actor in electoral politics. Local organization was predominantly in charge of informing Jewish voters who were allies to their cause and who were not.^[2] The national organization largely avoided political campaigns, leaving donations to private individuals. Instead, the CIC sought positive working relationships regardless of the party in power.^[1]

Beyond lobbying, the CIC was active in the Jewish community with its circulation of research, policy memorandums, and handbooks. Every year, the CIC hosted a large conference highlighting their work. All Jews were invited, and they could connect with both politicians and organizational leadership to advance CIC’s mission and scope. Lastly, the CIC constructed a networking platform for Jewish industrial leaders, academia, and activists. Leadership workshops were sporadically made available for these individuals.^[1]

Canadian Jews were, and remain, very active political participants. The CIC channeled this activism into influence through its platform off speaking for Canadian Jewry writ large. Because the CIC’s scope amalgamated the whole of Canadian Jewry into one, the diversity within the organization was immense, and consequently, the necessity to maintain a public face of unity was paramount. While disagreements were inevitable, they generally arose from differences of opinion on tactics, such as lobbying efforts, and not actual policy. CIC largely internalized these discrepancies and avoided commenting on topics that would divide the organization’s cohesion, for example, counseling or rebuking Israel.^[2] Conversely, when policy was the point of division within the Jewish community, the CIC attempted to soothe disagreements by charting a middle course. One such incident arose from the first Palestinian Intifada, beginning in 1987. The event markedly split the ideological ends of Canadian Jewry into polarized camps comprising of the political right and left. Their respective passions for supporting Israel and maintaining peace overwhelmed conciliatory efforts by the CIC to bridge the divide. The CIC wanted a compromise between both sides, but this led to each side roundly criticizing the CIC. Both the left and right perceived the CIC favoring the other side, and simultaneously, mainstream Jewry resented the CIC’s incapacity to forge consensus.^[1] Preserving intra-communal harmony was a consistent challenge the CIC faced throughout its existence.

Satisfying sponsoring partners was difficult because beliefs about responses or policy varied even within the CIC’s donor base. Resolving these contradictions diverted time and effort from lobbying efforts.^[1] A notable example of this occurred in 1979. Canada’s embassy in Israel was located in Tel Aviv, but there were calls to relocate it to Jerusalem. Joe Clark, a past leader of the Progressive Conservative party, was particularly in favor of the move. Intra-communal Jewish tensions swelled over this issue. While the embassy remained in Tel Aviv, the strains over the embassy location threatened to upend the CIC.^[1] Yet, the CIC persisted out of an innate obligation to unity, to both Canadian Jewry and the plight of Israel.^[1]

External links

• [1]
• Canada-Israel Committee

Further reading

David Howard Goldberg, Foreign policy and ethnic interest groups: American and Canadian Jews lobby for Israel, (1990), Chapter 3, The Canada-Israel Committee: History, Mandate, and Organizational Structure

See also

• Canadian Jewish Congress
• B'nai Brith Canada
• Independent Jewish Voices (Canada)
• Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee

References

• Tulchinsky, Gerald. Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community. Toronto, Ont: Lester Pub., 1992.
• Abella, Irving. A Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada. Toronto: Lester Pub., 1990.