from the Canadian Jewish News:

Budget cuts force Montreal aliyah centre to close

The global economy, drastic cuts to the Jewish Agency for Israel’s (JAFI) budget and the online age converged last month to force the closure of the Montreal Aliyah Centre, one of several in North America slated to shut down by the summer as part of a “major restructuring” within JAFI.

But although the move – effective at the end of January – was to some extent anticipated, it came as a sad blow to those associated with the centre, which was almost as old as the State of Israel itself. They now fear that the absence of people “on the ground” could hurt the level of aliyah from Montreal.

from The New York Jewish Week:

Jewish Outreach In Lean Times

Now that I am a board member of a fledgling synagogue, I am learning just how expensive it is to serve folks who are open to Judaism, but not yet psychologically ready to make it a financial priority (and may never be).

from The LA Jewish Journal:

Jewlicious 5.0 Celebrates Diverse Talent, Unity

When the first Jewlicious festival, Jewlicious @ The Beach, launched in April 2005, co-founder Rabbi Yonah Bookstein and his team rented out a few rooms at the Alpert Jewish Community Center in Long Beach to host about 100 participants. Four years later, they are booking the entire facility to hold Jewlicious 5.0, which is expected to attract 800 Jewish students and young professionals.

“We’ve put to bed the myth that young Jews don’t want to be involved,” Bookstein said. “Young Jews do want to be involved. Young Jews are thirsty for involvement and for being connected.”