DJC Blog

“WHAT DO WE LEAVE? NOTHING MUCH — ONLY ANATEVKA — ANATEVKA!” Who could forget those haunting lines from the Broadway musical and award-winning film, “A Fiddler On The Roof“? At the DJC we are sponsoring a Syrian-Kurdish family of seven (a mother and father and five children); who we hope to see in Toronto this […]

The DJC Social Justice Committee is looking for a volunteer from our community who speaks Arabic. Recently we found out that the parents of the Syrian family we are sponsoring do not speak any English and although we will have access to other translators in the GTA who are working with Syrian newcomers, it would […]

Doug Saunders of the Globe & Mail hosted a fascinating discussion on interfaith responses to the Syrian refugee crisis as part of World Interfaith Harmony Week. The event was held on February 9th at “Congregation Darchei Noam“, a reconstructionist synagogue in North York. Members of the Danforth Jewish Circle’s Social Justice Committee attended as well as Rabbi […]

Based on what you’re hearing in the news lately, you may be asking what the difference is between privately sponsored and government sponsored Syrian refugees. Since the DJC is privately sponsoring a Syrian refugee family of seven it not only matters; it also may be causing some confusion as stories of the plight of newly […]

This week on CBC Radio’s “The 180”, journalist Kamal Al-Solaylee says we are over-playing the warm and fuzzy stories of Canadians welcoming refugees and expands on this based on a column he wrote recently in The Walrus magazine. In this interview with Jim Brown, Al-Solaylee discusses how Syrian refugee stories are flooding the media (a […]

As we continue to journey through the process of sponsoring a Syrian refugee family, there have been many wonderful moments and unique learning opportunities that our volunteers encounter every day. We’d like to share some of that learning. On December 16th, Social Justice Committee members Sharron Kusiar and Kathy Glazier attended an information session that […]

It’s a new year and more household items are still needed for the Syrian refugee family we’re sponsoring. Read more.

Time was ticking and there they were (“they” being our two NEW volunteers — Liat Ross and Michelle Marsellus — who had volunteered to cover off as “Furniture Leads” on the DJC Social Justice Committee’s Syrian Refugee Family Sponsorship team while Sharron Kusiar is away). They were waiting on the curb for a truck pick-up […]

On Sunday, December 6th, over 30 people joined the Danforth Jewish Circle’s Social Justice Committee for the first information session on the DJC’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Allie Lehmann, Chair of the DJC Social Justice Committee, welcomed everyone and began by thanking the donors who have raised more than $55K for this sponsorship! […]