Elizabeth Wolfe, Vice-President of The Canadian Jewish News

When we announced the demise of the print edition of The CJN in April, our readers and the Canadian Jewish community experienced a real, existential threat. The ensuing expressions of support for The CJN from our readers, the concern of institutions that rely on The CJN to deliver their messages and the ongoing international media interest in the status of the paper led us all to the recognition that its end would be a great loss for Canadian Jewry.

The CJN was recognized as the vehicle that creates a national community, reflecting the depth and breadth of Jewish life in Canada and providing a platform for the expression of our concerns. It allows all Jews, both here and abroad, to be a part of the Jewish community. The threatened closure was perceived to indicate a decline in Jewish engagement and a weakening of national Jewish identity.

That conclusion could not be further from the truth. The response over the last few months has provided re-affirmation that our Jewish community wants to be engaged and to be informed. We have learned that The CJN is a crucial asset of the Canadian Jewish community.

We thank our readers, our columnists, the paper’s professional staff and all those who have expressed their willingness to assist the paper to continue to publish. We especially wish to acknowledge the federal government for the continuation of Canada Heritage funding of more than $400,000 and MP Mark Adler for assisting in the application for funding.

Although it is a not-for-profit corporation, The CJN must, nevertheless, ensure its own financial viability. In order to continue to publish, we must ensure continued revenues from both subscriptions and advertising. We look to our friends across the community to participate actively in both respects whenever possible.

Pensioners have told me they would pay more to ensure they continue to receive the paper. Colleagues have volunteered to purchase subscriptions for their parents and their children. Agencies have said they would purchase copies for their waiting rooms. My own children’s friends have indicated they would take out their own subscriptions.

A newly established The CJN Subscrip-tion Assistance Fund housed at the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto will now enable you to donate annual subscriptions to clients of our communal social service agencies.

NOW IS THE TIME TO EXPRESS YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE CJN BY RENEWING SUBSCRIPTIONS, SENDING GIFTS OF SUBSCRIPTIONS TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY BY DONATING SUBSCRIPTIONS THROUGH THE CJN SUBSCRIPTION FUND. NOW IS THE TIME TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE CJN BY ADVERTISING IN ITS PAGES.

In order to ensure the continued viability of The CJN, the board of directors has made difficult but necessary decisions. We have had to reduce staff in both our Toronto and Montreal offices by approximately one-third. Among those who have departed are our most senior management, including general manager Gary Laforet, editor Mordechai Ben-Dat and advertising manager Vera Gillman.

We value the efforts of all staff and sincerely thank them for their efforts. We are grateful for their years of dedication to The CJN and for having made The CJN the valued institution that it is. Under the leadership of acting general manager Robert Attala, all aspects of operations are under review.

We have entered into new lease arrangements, and the Toronto office will be moving to 1750 Steeles Ave. W. at the end of the summer. Production, print and distribution processes are under review. Changes have been made to the paper’s operations, and we will continue to reduce expenses wherever possible, upgrade our operations and revitalize the paper. We will be missing our former writers, but we will be introducing new columnists. We are actively engaged in the search for a new editor. More significant editorial changes, including a redesign of both the print and digital editions, will be introduced over the course of the next year once new editorial leadership is in place.

We believe that these changes, together with increased revenues from our subscription drive and enhanced advertising and continued Heritage Canada support, will be sufficient to achieve financial sustainability for The CJN for the foreseeable future.

Your support has enabled us to seize this opportunity to re-vision The CJN, both in print and online, to create an even more impactful, essential read. Thank you to everyone for your role in rescuing The CJN.