Dear Community Members,

JOIN US! We are going to Israel! From May 3-14, 2015, the Federation is leading a Mission to Israel where we will visit all the great sites of the country, from the beaches of Tel Aviv to the Old City of Jerusalem, meet young Israeli entrepreneurs and recent Ethiopian immigrants adjusting to the modern life of Israel. With my wife Valorie as my co-chair, I invite the entire community (those who have already been should come again – you can never visit Israel too many times), and for those who have never been, make this your first time – to join us as we visit Israel at its best! For more information about the mission trip schedule and costs, please email Jodi Novak for more details.

With 18-24 year olds from across Western Canada in attendance, Hillel Winnipeg's Shabbat Shabang, taking place at the Asper Jewish Community Campus from January 9-11, will feature speakers and presentations on Jewish identity, Middle East politics, Israel-related campus issues as well as workshops on life skills. There will be something for everyone, and if you know of a person in the community in this age group who may be interested in participating, email Ian Brojges for more information. It is a conference not to be missed!

As mentioned in a previous email, the Federation and its community partners are going through a land use needs process. Through this process we are consulting with, speaking and listening to many people from inside and outside of the community. We have sent a survey to the organizational leadership of our community and we would like to ask our entire community the same three questions. Please see the survey here; I encourage everyone to send back to me as soon as possible your thoughts concerning this land use process shaped by the three questions.

January, like every other month, is full of great activities around the community. Some of these activities include the following:

•             PJ Library's Havdalah Pool Party | January 24, 6:30pm | Presented by Federation and the Rady JCC | To register, contact Florencia Katz.

•             Fire & Ice | January 24, 7:45-11:00pm | Presented by Federation's Young Adult Division (YAD) and Hillel Winnipeg | Havdalah and curling (yes, you heard that correct!) | To register, contact Lesley Garscadden.

•             Special adult party: Tu B'Shevat Among the Trees | February 7, 8:00 pm | Presented by Federation, Congregation Etz Chayim, Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Jewish National Fund | To register, call Etz Chayim: 204.589.6305

I want to leave the community with a last thought for this month concerning Israel. I recently returned from Coast-to-Coast partnership meetings in Israel with our Israeli and cross-Canada partners, discussing and visiting projects that we already fund, as well as a number of projects up for consideration (you can read a summary of our meetings in Israel here). We also spoke collectively about adult programming ideas and what it means to have a relationship with Israel. Our partnership with Israel, through our national body of Jewish Federations of Canada, is unique and special, and we are collectively doing great things in Israel, helping children, at-risk youth, lone soldiers, families in need and seniors. We in Winnipeg have always taken pride in our special relationship with Israel, and as the CEO, I have come to witness this from a planning perspective in but a few short months. Over the course of the new year I will be speaking with and listening to many people with respect to how we make a great partnership an even better one, and how we 'up' our communal game when it comes to our engagement with 'Israel'. If you wish to be a part of this conversation, I welcome the input - as always, at [email protected].

With pride in our collective accomplishments,

Adam Bronstone

Chief Executive Officer