Thursday. May 11,1995 — THE BULLETIN — 3
By MICHELLE BETZ
"I probably enjoyed it more than I should have."
That was Irving Abelia's initial reaction when asked to comment about his threcr year term as Canadian Jewish Congress president.
"It was an invigorating and happy experience," enthused the 55-year-old Abella in a long-distance phone interview with The Bulletin from Toronto.
Abella's term comes to an end at noon on May 15 when his successor will be elected at the CJC Plenary, being held in Montreal.
and content, a community that stresses not only memory and remembrance, but other important values of our tradition — social justice, equity and compassion.
"This is a campaign we have to win; it is one we cannot afford to lose."
Indeed, Abella said he is pleased with the progress CJC has taken in this direction and he expressed hope that it would continue.
But for Abella, continuity was not an issue to be tackled on its own. Instead, he began his term by stressing what he believed should be a dual approach for Con-
'It is important in	I this country to
create coalitions . .	. especially when
the issues are mora	1."
When Abella was installed as president in 1992, issues such as the Middle East conflict, anti-Semitism and Nazi war criminals were accompanied by one strong, overlying theme: Jewish continuity and the future of the Jewish community in Canada.
At the time, the York University history professor wanted to see the issue of Jewish continuity officially put back on the Congress agenda.
In his installation address he emphasized: "We must try to build a Jewish community that is not simply concerned with survival, but one that is creative and attractive to our children — a community with substance
gress — dealing with issues as both Jews and Canadians.
In an interview carried shortly after he was elected, the professor toldV W^^Sthat, "If there is a Canadian issue, then it is a Jewish issue. We ought to play as large a role as we possibly can in Canada and involve ourselves in Canadian affairs, particularly as they affect us as Jews, as an ethnic group, a minority group, and as citizens of the country."
If nothing else, it is this approach that will mark his tenure as president for it was the first time, according to Abella, that Congress "became involved in issues outside direct Jewish influence."
Today, the soft-spoken
NEW YORK
The
Anti-Defamation League is seeking people who can bear witness against former SS Obersturmfuehrer Gerhard Maywald, commandant of the Russian death camp Mali Trostinez.
Maywald has already been convicted for participation in criminal actions in the Riga Ghetto. He has
denied any involvement in the deaths of Jews at Mali Trostinez.
Survivors who can place Maywald at Mali Trostinez from spring to fall of 1942 are asked to contact Elliot Welles, director, ADL Task Force on Nazi War Criminals, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10017.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The board of directors of The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, Hillel's new governing structure, recently held its first meeting.
New officers are: Edgar Bronfman (chair. International Board of Governors), Michael Rukin (chair), Harold   Horwitz, Eleanor
Katz and David Kessel (vice-chairs), Charles Newman (treasurer), Rosalind Neuman (secretary), Richard Joel (president) and David Bittker (past chairperson).
Members of the board include one Canadian, Ami Haasz of Montreal.
MONTREAL - Mont-realer Neri Bloomfield will be awarded an honorary doctorate at the annual Hebrew University Board of Governors conference in Jerusalem.
Bloomfield has been involved in a variety of Jew-
ish concerns, including Hebrew University, the City of Jerusalem, Jewish National Fund and Hadas-sah=WIZO.
The conference, scheduled for June 16-22, will bring 120 board members to Jerusalem.
professor said he is proud that his non-governmental organization has been a leader in issues not specifically Jewish such as equity, immigration reform and other social and public policy issues.
For example, uncler his tenure CJC became involved in hate crimes against gays and gun control.
"One of the proudest moments was standing up with the Sikhs and the turban issue," he remarked. "We took the legions [Royal Canadian Legions] to task for disallowing people with turbans to enter."
CJC formed a coalition with the World Sikh Organization (WSO) to protest the decision by certain RCL branches to ban the wearing of religious headgear in their halls.
Abella, who was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1994, stressed the importance of these types of coalitions. "It is important in this country to create coalitions ... . especially when the issues are moral," he opined.
Ultimately, "in terms of human rights and civil liberties, CJC has played a very important role . . . It's a very Jewish thing to do," Abella told JWB. "If we don't stand up for others, who will?"
But his three-year term wasn't all glowing.
The outgoing president admitted that he met with some frustrations along the way — mostly dealing with
internal squabbles over budget allocations.
"Part of the frustration was that we didn't do as much as we wanted to [due to budget constraints]." The Federations, he explained, "are straining for every dollar they get."
And there has been at least one regret as well.
"My major regret is that I can't serve another three years [as president]," he laughed.
But, he remarked, his three-year term was filled with a continuous string of highlights.
His desire to elevate CJC to the infernational level took Abeliia" and Congress officials to Israel, Jordan, Switzerland, England and Cuba, among other countries.
In April 1993 Abella led a group of 165 people (the largest Diaspora delegation) to Poland to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
In the summer of 1994, he led a CJC study mission to Israel for 16 Canadian university presidents (including SFU President John Stubbs). The group visited universities in Israel and also met with Palestinian academics.
Congress' work on behalf of Israel, he remarked, has been paramount.
In particular, Abella has lobbied the International Red cross to recognize Israel's Magen David Adorn (MDA) emergency service. In 1992, he declared that "of
ABELLA ... term as CJC proslddnt ends May 15.
all the countries in the world, only Israel is effectively forbidden admission into the Red Cross."
It was during a June 1993 visit to Switzerland that Abella met with Interna--tional Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Secretary-General • George Weber to press the case of MDA being admitted to the organization.
The International Federation is now examining the issue. MDA officials in Israel credit CJC for the Red Cross's improved attitude.
Abella called this one of his most memorable achieve-
ments internationally. And, he added, it v/ouldn't have been achieved if CJC had not rii:st received the support of the Canadian Red Cross.
But Abella stressed that while his mandate as president may have come to an end, his role with CJC has not. He still plans to be active as an officer of Congress.
In addition to his con-, tinued role with CJC, what does Abella want for the future of CJC?
"I want it to be as strong going into the 20th century as it is leaving the 20th century."
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