Canadian Young Judaea (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה הַצָעִיר קָנָדָה, Yehuda HaTza'ir Canada) is the largest Zionist youth movement in Canada.[3] The movement was founded as the youth wing of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO and the Zionist Organization of Canada in 1917, and is affiliated with HaNoar HaTzioni. Young Judaea operates five Jewish summer camps across Canada.
יהודה הצעיר קנדה[1] | |
Formation | 1917 |
---|---|
Founder | Bernard Joseph |
Type | Zionist youth movement |
Headquarters | 788 Marlee Avenue Toronto, Ontario |
Region | Canada |
Membership (2017) | 2,000[2] |
Executive Director | Risa Epstein |
Staff (2017) | 750[2] |
Website | youngjudaea |
Canadian Young Judaea was established by Bernard Joseph at the 15th Zionist Convention in Winnipeg in 1917.[4] Acting as the youth wing of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO and the Zionist Organization of Canada, Young Judaea held biennial and regional conferences and facilitated transnational social contact between members with its Correspondence Club.[5] At weekly meetings, activities included lectures and discussions on Jewish history, current affairs and topics related to Zionism.[6]
By 1925, there were 75 clubs across Canada and by 1935 national membership reached 5,000.[7] Louis Rasminsky served as national vice-president in 1926.[8] A. M. Klein served as editor of The Judaean, the movement's magazine, from 1928 to 1932 and as national president in 1934.[9][10] Young Judaea became officially affiliated with HaNoar HaTzioni in 1950.[7]
Young Judaea soon grew from a city-based organization to one based around summer camps and Israel programs. The movement's summer camps were modelled after the pioneering kibbutzim in Israel.[11] Young Judaea opened Camp Hagshama (later renamed Camp Kinneret) in 1942 in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, followed by Camp Kadima in Nova Scotia in 1943.[2] Camp Biluim was founded in 1951 in Perth, Ontario, which offered an intensive leadership development program for older teenagers.[12] Camp Biluim moved to the site of Camp Hagshama in 1972.[13]
Canadian Young Judaea is the umbrella organization for a number of Canadian Jewish summer camps, including Camp Shalom in Muskoka, Camp Kadimah in Lunenburg County, Camp Solelim in Sudbury, Camp Hatikvah in Kelowna, and Camp Kinneret–Biluim in Mont-Tremblant.[14] Young Judaea also runs a four-week summer tour of Israel and a post-secondary educational gap year program.[14]
In 2018, Canadian Young Judaea announced it would be launching a week-long overnight summer camp for LGBTQ Jewish campers called Machane Lev.[15]
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