About CIJA
Our Mission
CIJA’s mission is to protect the quality of Jewish life in Canada through advocacy.
Our Vision
Canada will remain one of the best countries in the world in which to be Jewish.

Who We Are
We are the advocacy agent of 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 internationally.
What We Do
Working in partnership with Jewish Federations and unfederated Jewish communities, CIJA identifies issues important to Canadian Jewry. CIJA then designs and implements strategies to ensure that leaders in government, media, civil society, business, and academia understand our community’s perspective and that it is considered in the public policy discussion in Canada.

Fighting For Issues That Matter
Combating Antisemitism and Hate
CIJA is leading the fight against antisemitism by advancing policy proposals that protect Canada’s Jewish community from coast to coast and strengthens our government’s ability to combat hate.
Strengthening the Canada-Israel Relationship
CIJA educates Canadians about the central role Israel plays in Jewish life and identity. We monitor issues that affect the Canada-Israel relationship, a friendship that benefits both Canadians and Israelis.
Social Policies that Protect Jewish Life in Canada
CIJA works with Jewish service delivery agencies and other minority communities to advance social policies aligned with Jewish values that benefit all Canadians.
For more information on the issues CIJA works on check out our federal issues guide.
Our Team

Shimon Koffler Fogel
Chief Executive Officer
During his long career in Jewish advocacy, Shimon introduced the Shared Values strategy, now adopted by much of the international pro-Israel advocacy community. The Hill Times recognized Fogel as one of the 100 most influential actors within the political sector, and Embassy Magazine ranked him among the 50 most important people influencing Canadian foreign policy.

Sara Saber-Freedman
Executive Vice President | Vice-présidente directrice
Sara Saber-Freedman is the operations and internal coordination lead for CIJA and is deeply committed to community-based advocacy on behalf of the Jewish people.

David Cooper
Vice President, Government Relations
David Cooper leads CIJA’s national government relations team.

Richard Marceau
Vice President, External Affairs and General Counsel | Vice-président, relations externes et avocat-conseil
Richard is a former Member of Parliament, a lawyer, a published author, a human rights activist, and a person passionate about the Jewish story.

Martin Sampson
Vice President, Communications and Marketing
Martin Sampson is a non-Jewish Zionist who is deeply concerned by antisemitism. Martin manages a team of communications professionals who tell the CIJA story and provide communications advice to CIJA stakeholders, staff, and lay leadership.

Noah Shack
Vice President, GTA
Noah leads the GTA team at CIJA. He has more than a decade of experience in advancing the diverse interests of the Jewish community, testifying as an expert witness at all levels of government and serving as a spokesperson in local and national media.

Eta Yudin
Vice President, Quebec | Vice-présidente, Québec
Starting as a grassroots student activist, Eta has built advocacy expertise in community, government relations, education, communications, and human rights issues and in the nuances of Quebec’s unique political landscape and its community relations.

Judy Zelikovitz
Vice President, University and Local Partner Services
Judy is a long-time professional and volunteer in the community working with, among others, Federations, small communities, and universities. Familiarity with life in both small towns and Toronto informs her Canadian community advocacy. Passionate about Israel, Judy also leads missions there.

Emmanuelle Amar
Director, Research and Public Policy | Directeur, Recherche et politiques publiques
Emmanuelle’s role includes developing Quebec-specific policy positions to support outreach efforts, as well as monitoring and conducting research on antisemitism.

Sheba Birhanu
Associate Director, Partnerships
A Canadian-Ethiopian Jewish activist, Sheba focuses on human rights, safety, and equity in technology. Her work in Partnerships facilitates cultural, religious, and political collaboration in combating antisemitism and hate.

David Friedland
Associate Director, Government Relations
David is a Jewish community advocate who has worked at all three levels of government over the past decade. He focuses on federal government and Alberta and Saskatchewan advocacy. David brings smaller communities’ voices into the national discussion.

Yannis Harrouche
Director of Government Relations, Quebec | Directeur des relations gouvernementales, Québec
A non-Jewish Zionist deeply concerned by antisemitism, Yannis works to advance CIJA’s objectives in Quebec with the provincial and municipal governments.

Nico Slobinsky
Senior Director, Pacific Region
Nico supports the local community’s advocacy goals working with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, community agencies, leaders in government, media, academia, civic society and other faith and ethnic communities across the Pacific Region.

David Weinberg
Director, Israel Office
David Weinberg has represented the Canadian Jewish community in promoting Canada-Israel relations for more than 35 years. He maintains CIJA’s extensive set of contacts in Israeli decision-making circles.
Our National Board
Gail Adelson-Marcovitz (Chair)
Toby Abramsky
Joshua Ali
Michael Aronovici
Barbara Bank
Paul Bronfman
Geoffrey Druker
Howard Eisenberg
Rick Ekstein
Linda Frum
Richard Kizell
Steven Kroft
Jeff Kushner
Candace Kwinter
Karyn Saragossi Lassner
Michael Malowitz
Elan Pratzer
Martin Rosenthal
Steve Shafir
Ian Sherman
Jared Shore
Joanna Mirsky Wexler
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Still have questions about CIJA and our work? Check out our FAQ page for more information.