The Canadian Friends of the Ukrainian Jewish Community (CFUJC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the Jewish Community of Kiev support disadvantaged children, care for impoverished seniors and run a full roster of religious, social and educational activities. Backed by a Board of Directors comprised of well-respected individuals with a vast and varied background of accomplishment and community service, CFUJC is run by Marra Messinger, a non-profit specialist with professional experience in both Canada and Israel. The current Chairman of the Board is Nathan Jacobson, an internationally- known businessman and philanthropist who spent many years working and investing in the former Soviet Union.
Ely M. Braun is an ordained rabbi who holds a Master of Science in Education. A resident of Ottawa, Rabbi Braun currently heads the Gishur Centre for Mediation and Counseling and the Ottawa College of Jewish Studies, a community-oriented institution whose goal is to provide meaningful Jewish learning experiences that challenge the mind and enrich the spirit.
Stephen Brodsky (Major, retd), CD, BA (Queen’s), MA (UVic), and PhD (York, UK), a soldier from early youth in Canadian line infantry and paratroop units, served in NATO West Germany, in Cyprus and Kashmir as a UN peacekeeper, as an instructor at the Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School and Staff School, and as Assistant Professor (Lit) at Royal Roads Military College, Victoria, BC. Retiring from military service in 1983, he continued at the College as Lecturer (Visiting Professor) until 1992. His published works include numerous journal articles and several books (Online search: G.W. Stephen Brodsky). He makes his home on Vancouver Island.
Rabbi Dr. Reuven P. Bulka has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Machzikei Hadas in Ottawa since 1967. In addition to being an accomplished author of more than 30 books and countless articles in the fields of religion, health, and psychology, he is also a host of In Good Faith on the A-Channel and the host of Sunday Night with Rabbi Bulka on CFRA. A dedicated grass-roots volunteer, he is renowned for his tireless commitment to the Ottawa community through service on charitable and civic boards and regular participation in charity events. He has received numerous awards including the prestigious Gilbert Greenberg Distinguished Service Award for his exemplary service to the Jewish Community of Ottawa. He is chairman of the religious advisory committee of United Way/Centraide of Ottawa-Carleton, and chairs the Courage Campaign for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.
Anna-lee Chiprout is a native Ottawan who is deeply involved in building bridges between Canadian Christian and Jewish communities. She is the co-Canadian representative of the Christian Allies Caucus of the Israeli Knesset, and was recently nominated to serve on the Executive of the Capital Region Interfaith Council. She is the first Jew to be named an honorary member of Aglow Women International, a trans-denominational association of Christian women, and is very active in One Free World International, a human rights organization dedicated to eradicating anti-Semitism and the persecution of Christians. Other volunteer positions include committee member of the Jewish Family Service’s Streetsmart program and executive member of United Jewish Appeal, State of Israel Bonds, and the One Family Fund.
Norman Godfrey is the President of Yorkwood Investments Ltd., a Toronto-based business whose principal activities are development and construction. Norman is also a Past President of the Greater Toronto Home Builders Association and of the Canadian Home Builders Association. Norman has held and continues to hold many key positions in the Canadian Jewish community.
Dr. Lawrence Hart is associate professor of medicine at McMaster University and staff rheumatologist at St. Joseph’s Health Care and Hamilton Health Sciences. He is immediate past president of Maccabi Canada and a past national president of B’nai Brith Canada. Over the past several years, he has held leadership positions with the Canada Israel Committee and on the board and committees of the Hamilton Jewish Federation. He writes a monthly column for the Canadian Jewish News, is a past member of the Community Editorial Board of the Hamilton Spectator newspaper, and a current member of the Hamilton Media Advisory Committee. Recently, he has been instrumental in establishing a Jewish faculty association at McMaster.
Nathan Jacobson Chairman of West Group Resources Ltd. and President of IFG Canada Ltd., Winnipeg-born Nathan Jacobson is an international business leader and philanthropist with major financial interests in Israel, Russia and the Ukraine. Included in his successful ventures are his involvement in construction of over 2,000 gas stations and fuel storage facilities in Russia and Eastern European countries in association with TNK-BP (British Petroleum), as well as the founding of the General Motors and Philip Morris tobacco distributorships in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Before beginning his prolific business career, Mr. Jacobson served in a special combat unit of the Israel Defence Forces.
Hon. David Kilgour, J.D. During his 27 years of service in the House of Commons, David held a variety of portfolios, including Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole House, Secretary of State (Africa and Latin America) and Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific). As a practising Christian, David believes in the importance of promoting awareness and understanding across and among different faiths. He is a member of the Muslim-Christian Dialogue and received a Religious Liberty Award from the International Religious Liberty Association in Washington, D.C. As Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Soviet Jewry, he was recognized by B'nai Brith Canada for his effort and commitment in bringing the plight of Soviet Jewry to the attention of the Canadian public.
Rami Kleinmann was born in Tiberius, Israel and served in the Foreign Relations Division of the Israel Defence Forces. In 1997, he moved to Winnipeg where he served as the Israel Emissary for the Jewish National Fund (JNF). During Rami’s tenure at the JNF, he brokered four ground-breaking agreements between the JNF and the governments of Manitoba and Alberta. In November, 2007 he was appointed National Director of Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University.
Valeri Kukushkin was born in a small town on the border of Russia and the Ukraine in the former Soviet Union. As a youth, he studied music and musicology in Rostov-on-Don and then appeared as a regular soloist with the Russian State Operetta. Valeri continued his music studies at the University of Minsk in Belarus and also played with the Gomel State Circus. In 1990, he moved to Canada and opened a piano restoration business. In 2000, opened a tele-communications business in partnership with Nathan Jacobson.
Alti Rodal was born in Chernivtsi (Czernowitz) in western Ukraine, and received her early schooling in Israel. She was educated at McGill, Oxford and Hebrew universities in the fields of history, religion and literature. Her professional experience includes a decade of full-time and sessional university teaching at universities in Montreal, Ottawa, and Oxford; research and writing, under academic, policy institute, governmental, and other auspices; and twenty-seven years of senior advisory and management experience in government in Canada, including the Privy Council Office/Cabinet Office, Royal Commissions, federal government central agencies and departments, and provincial agencies. She is the author of a variety of studies and reports for government, as well as scholarly and other writing on aspects of identity, history and culture, inter-communal relations, and public policy. She has served on the National Executive Committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress, and on the boards of hospital and other public bodies, both national and regional.
Jack Silverstone is the past executive vice president of Canadian Jewish Congress. He was also a visiting scholar at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He has held diplomatic and consular posts for Canada in the United States and Latin America. Most recently, he was Chief of Staff to the federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and before that held the same position at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Educated at McGill University, he currently practices law in Ottawa.
Chief Executive Officer:
Marra Messinger was born in Winnipeg and moved to Israel in the early seventies. In Israel, she worked as an editor, writer and teacher of English and then served for 15 years as the Cultural and Public Affairs Officer at the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv. In 1997, she was appointed Director of Circulation at the Jerusalem Post. In 1999, she returned to Canada and from 1999-2000 served as the Executive Director of the Campaign against Child Poverty in Toronto. In 2000, she moved to Ottawa to work at the Canada Israel Committee as Director of Community Development. In 2007, she was named CEO of the Canadian Friends of the Ukrainian Jewish Community organization.
