JSpaceCanada is happy to announce the appointment of Joe Roberts to Chair of the Board.
Joe Roberts is veteran political strategist in both the US and Canada, he serves as Executive Director of the Centre for Canadian Progress, and has spent the last 10 years in executive positions in the Jewish Federation system. Joe and his family call Cobourg, Ontario home.
“This appointment excites me because it is coming at the exact right time. As a pro-Israel, pro-peace progressive Zionist, I am worried that the formation and actions of the new extremist Israeli government will push Jews like us in the Diaspora further from Israel.” Says Joe. “The institutions said to represent us have been nearly-silent on this issue, as they have been many times in the past, and young people are feeling increasingly frustrated. Israel is important to us, but the narrative we’re being fed - that Israel can do no wrong, and that being pro-Israel means being uncritical just doesn’t speak to our truth or our Jewish values.”
The expertise and passion that Joe brings to JSpaceCanada sets us up as a strong, sophisticated, and capable organization, able to be an alternative voice for so many pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Jews in Canada.