Atlantic Jewish Council


The Atlantic Jewish Council, founded in 1975, is the Atlantic Canadian local partner of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and was previously the Atlantic Canadian office of the Canadian Jewish Congress. According to its mission statement, it is primarily tasked with "Israel advocacy, community relations, fighting anti-Semitism, and promoting interfaith dialogue and multiculturalism." Howard Conter is the president of its board of directors, and its executive director is Jon Goldberg. As a result of the Canadian Jewish Congress' reorganization in 2007, the AJC became an individual member rather than an affiliate organization of the CJC; this was further reformed after the establishment of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which subsumed the CJC in 2011. The AJC also owns and operates Camp Kadimah.

Camp Kadimah

Camp Kadimah, founded in 1943 and affiliated with Canadian Young Judaea, is located on the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County. Campers range from 8–16 years of age. Its mission statement, according to its website, is "to build a foundation of Jewish identity and a love of Israel in generations of campers and staff, by providing a safe, caring community in which to foster knowledge, skills and leadership, for the benefit of Atlantic and Canadian Jewish Children." Many of the campers are from Toronto, Ontario but there remains a large portion of campers from Halifax. Many of the campers also from Israel.
There are 5 sections are the camp. The youngest sections, Gibborim, Goshrim, and Kochot occupied the main side of the bridge. Gibborim, the youngest section, means 'mighty.' Goshrim, for children aged 10-11, means 'bridge builders.' Kochot, the next section means 'power.' Machar, the eldest section as well as the section that occupies the other side of the bridge, means 'tomorrow.' There is also a CIT program that fosters the development of teenagers into adults. The CIT's live on the Machar side of the bridge. It is Kosher and nut-free. In 2009, ten teenagers from Sderot, Israel attended Camp Kadimah.
Camp Kadimah is a founding member of the Summer Camp Health Initiative, which is aimed at advancing the health promotion and prevention of injuries and illnesses at Summer Camps in Canada.