TORONTO — The new executive director of the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) wants to see more of the community.
Mark Waldman [Al Gilbert photo]
In an interview last month, Mark Waldman, who recently took over as executive director at CJPAC – replacing Josh Cooper – told The CJN that he hopes more Canadian Jews get involved in politics, and quickly.
With the country seemingly on the verge of an election every month, Waldman, 41, said the committee is ready to mobilize the Jewish community to become active in the event one is triggered.
“Hopefully, there won’t be an election for awhile,” he said. “We’d like some time to broaden our [5,000-strong] membership base in the country.”
Waldman, a native Torontonian, was a founding member of CJPAC and said he’s returned now because the timing was right for him personally. He said he’s always had a “passion” for the community “and this is something I helped start.”
CJPAC defines itself as “a unique national, grassroots, independent organization whose mandate is to engage the community in the political process.”
It’s a membership-based, non-partisan national organization dedicated to getting out the Jewish voice across all party lines.
Since its birth in 2004 – then known as CIJA-PAC (Canadian Council for Israel & Jewish Advocacy-Public Affairs Committee) – it has amassed 5,000 members and implemented numerous programs aimed at getting Jewish youth more active in and aware of politics.
For Waldman, taking over from Cooper – who he’s been friends with since childhood – is akin to being passed a figurative baton.
“I’ve had a lot of experience advocating for the Jewish community,” he said, though that’s a bit of an understatement.
His philanthropic roles in Jewish and broader community organizations reads like a who’s who list.
His past and present affiliations include: Access Middle East and United Way; serving as co-chair of the UJA Major Gifts Campaign; member of the UJC Young Leadership Cabinet; founder and co-chair of the UJA Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund; co-chair of the Friends of Simon Weisenthal Centre’s first annual campaign, and working as a Big Brother for JF&CS in his 20s.
Most recently, he served on the board of the Canada-Israel committee.
His CIC biography states Waldman has also been “involved in broader political causes such as Canada-US relations, where he co-founded ‘Friends of America’ to counter anti-American sentiment in Canada.”
Waldman is also a director of the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and Marnlen Management, his family’s business.
He said all the contacts he’s made over the years should serve him well in his new position with CJPAC.
“I’d love us to work with more Jewish organizations… it’s in our best interests.”
But his main focus right now is to bring in as many members as possible, with the goal of opening more offices across the nation to better represent the community.
“We’re looking to open an office in Vancouver and expand programming,” he said. “I’ll be doing a lot of travelling in the country. It’s my job to communicate our importance to the Jewish community. I’d love to have people on the ground in every city, but it’s not possible right now.”
He said he’ll be using one of his other passions, using social media and online marketing tools, as a means to achieve these goals.
“I want to create conversations and build up trust with the community,” he said. “Relationships matter… and I’ll soon be launching a campaign to reach out to higher-net-worth donors and younger volunteers. I’d like to double CJPAC’s membership to increase our funding and create more engagement.”
For those sitting on the fence about whether to get more politically involved, Waldman says it doesn’t take much to make your voice heard.
“Just by doing a bit… you can make a difference,” he said. “We’re here to help make it easier. We’ve had tremendous success these last five years. The community can’t always see it, but it’s there.”
Still, he said he encourages anyone interested in learning more about the organization to “reach out” to CJPAC via its online presence.
“‘Fan’ us on Facebook. Join our organization. We’d love you to talk to us.”
For more information, visit www.cjpac.ca
