FROM OUR COMMUNITIES | CANADA | CIJA Co-Chair Joel Reitman

07 Apr 2020

CANADA | Co-Chair of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and WJC Vice President Joel Reitman discusses the impact COVID-19 has had on the Jewish community in Canada, and the resources CIJA has made available to help contend with the uncertainty.


In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Jewish Congress is fully committed to supporting our Jewish communities across the globe as they confront the unprecedented challenges caused by this global crisis and are doing everything in our power to ensure that all Jews everywhere, individually and as communities, are secure, defended and protected as we all go through the vulnerabilities of what we hope and pray will be a short-lived new reality.

The COVID-19 crisis has forced Jewish communities across the globe to redirect their activities to the digital sphere to enable them to provide critical up-to-date information and resources on urgent matters: the supply and accessibility of kosher for Passover food; religious rulings pertaining to video conferencing to conduct a virtual Seder; guidelines for burials and mourning practices while in isolation; and important, potentially life-saving community updates.

Our communities and the members of the WJC’s Jewish Diplomatic Corps have truly embraced the ancient Talmudic principle of Kol Israel Arevim Zeh la-Zeh, all Jews are responsible for one another.

For more on how Covid-19 is impacting the Jewish world, please click here.