Closure announcement saddens readers

News of the closing of The CJN is very sad, indeed! My parents were avid readers of The CJN when I was growing up in London, Ont., and I have carried on the tradition for many years. The paper has been a fixture in our home and we came to look forward to delivery every Wednesday to allow us to catch up with local and national Jewish news. It will be missed greatly!
Fred Leitner
Thornhill, Ont.

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I just found out that The CJN print edition will soon come to an end. How sad that a community newspaper that mirrors the opinions of everyone in the Jewish community will be no more. I felt you were always fair and balanced toward the Orthodox community. Being Jewish Canadians, our perspective is different than Americans (we are not as strident), and that was reflected in your paper. That tone will be missed. I hope to see you in a reconstituted digital format.
Rabbi Mordechai Bulua
Montreal

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It was with great sadness that I read CJN president Donald Carr’s message to your readers that The CJN would cease publishing a printed edition as of June 20. Your paper has been an important and valuable source of information to the Jewish community about local and international events. In particular, your coverage of the State of Israel usually offered stories that were lacking in the daily press.
Bert Raphael
Thornhill, Ont.

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I was saddened to read that The CJN has been discontinued. I looked forward to receiving it every week and being kept up to date on events in the Jewish community at home and abroad. I was impressed by the quality of the reporting and the diversity of the articles, especially in the last year.
Herb Lukofsky
Saint-Lambert, Que.

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I am shocked and saddened at the recent announcement of The CJN’s decision to close. As a Jewish professional who has worked with congregations across Canada for the last 15 years, The CJN has been an essential resource for me. As a member of the Toronto Jewish community, I rely on The CJN to provide me with current happenings in the city, across the country and in Israel. Having access to articles written by some of the most articulate and knowledgeable rabbis and teachers in our community has enlightened and inspired me on a weekly basis.
At a recent meeting of the adult education committee at Temple Emanu-El in Toronto, we began to plan the adult education programs for 2013-14. Several committee members brought clippings from The CJN that provided us with vital information about possible programs and speakers. There is no other publication that meets the needs of the Canadian Jewish community.
Marlene Myerson
Toronto

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As a 45-year-old Jewish business owner in Montreal, I understand your decision to close if there are no other options. In fact, I am on the board of Jewish People’s and Peretz Schools and its Bialik High School (JPPS/Bialik), which is also facing the trend of many Jewish institutions with declining enrolment, or in your case, ad sales. This is a horrible trend, and it scares me for the future. Your paper is a link to the Jewish community of Canada. It is through you that we see what is happening in other cities, not to mention our own! We need that link to continue, and it should be supported by the tens of millions of dollars that are donated annually to the various federations. Their main goal is to promote Judaism, but they have clearly failed here. Many of my friends would gladly pay to continue receiving your paper!
Lee Wise
Montreal

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I want to express my sadness at the news that The CJN is ceasing to operate. I always looked forward to my paper and loved going through its pages. I especially loved all the holiday editions, with their lovely stories and mouth-watering recipes. I hope The CJN will find its way into the digital age (although, in my humble opinion, nothing replaces the feel of paper) and that I will be able to once again read its pages.
Debbie Davis
Thornhill, Ont.

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I am saddened by the news that The CJN will be closing. I have been an avid reader of your paper for most of my life and was always enthusiastic about reading your in-depth coverage of Israel and our community. Our organization has worked with The CJN on numerous occasions. Your local staff has always been very professional, dependable and great to work with. For the sake of our office, and if I can speak on behalf of the many people that I’ve heard from since the news broke out, I ask you to please do what you can to keep the hard-copy newspaper going. The CJN has played a vital role for all of us in the Jewish community, and we all hope that you may find a way to be that great source of information that is a big part of what keeps our community together!
Amy Leitner
Executive Director, Montreal Region
Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of The Negev