CSJS Minutes & By-Laws

Index

Proposal to create the CSJS 2004

CSJS Bylaws Adopted 2004

Minutes for the Annual CSJS Meeting 2005

Minutes for the Annual CSJS Meeting 2006

Minutes for the Annual CSJS Meeting 2007

Minutes for the Annual CSJS Meeting 2008

Proposal for a Canadian Society for Jewish Studies

Preliminary Meeting held May 30, 2004

Asper Campus, Winnipeg MB

Chair: Ira Robinson

Present: Ehud Ben-Tsvi (Edmonton), Bernie Katz (Toronto), Gilda Katz (Toronto), Susan Landau-Chark (Montreal), Steven Lapidus (Montreal), Sol Littman (Tucson, Arizona), Richard Menkis (Vancouver), Yosef Dov Robinson (Rutgers University, New Jersey), Messod Salama (St John’s), Randal Schnoor (Toronto), Daniel Maoz (Kitchener), Hesh Troper (Toronto), Jesse Vorst (Winnipeg) and Barbara Weiser (Montreal).

Meeting called to 1) create a society

2) adopt by-laws

3) elect an executive

Some History:

Previous attempts to create a Canadian Society for Jewish Studies/la société canadienne pour les études juives never got off the ground.

It was decided to revisit issue because of success of the ACJS/AEJC. A by-product of this success is that there are a number of people in areas not in the study of Canadian Jewish life but in traditional Jewish studies and they are seeking a place to present [their interests].

Many people are in areas not directly related to Canadian Jewish Studies. The question was raised Why not open a few sections within the ASJC conference for the traditionalists? Significant objections were raised to this particular solution.

Under Congress (of Humanities and Social Science) there are “clumps” of groups that meet together.

1^st Step:

Discussion: At the previous conference there was sufficient support to consider pursuing the formation of a new society.

2^nd Step:

An announcement was placed on the list serve H-Judaic and 2 dozen people expressed interest.

3^rd Step:

Program Cttee was asked to accommodate a meeting of this sort as well as a session for traditional Jewish Studies.

Do we want to found a Canadian Society for Jewish Studies/la société canadienne pour les études juives?

Discussion raised concerning use of the present structure by Daniel who queried couldn’t we expand within the ACJS. Ehud noted that a society (such as the one being suggested) like this can be part of a larger cluster - a critical mass is needed to form an independent society. He suggested it might be better to first have sessions to determine interest and then once a critical mass is achieved the society can be created. Randy noted that in general he supports the notion of this type of society but queried how it would work in terms of governance.

Ira introduced the proposed by-laws are “bare bones” (see attached); as a small group with a low mass detailed by-laws are not needed to function well.

Randy then raised the question of dues and whether they would be separate from or connected to the ACJS. Ira noted that the conversation was “jumping the gun” as the question was still under discussion re the formation of a society. Question also raised as to whether the society could function on an informal basis until there is a mandate.

Steve asked whether there are enough people without detracting from the ACJS, and what will it provide alternately to other societies. Ira responded that there is probably a potential for membership across Canada of between 50-100 people and that a large society is not anticipated. Perhaps there will be 3 dozen to begin with so again the question is, is it worthwhile to form a formal society or is it better to sponsor with other societies starting with a one day conference next year?

Richard commented that initially he was concerned about the dilution of the ACJS. He noted that he appreciates the reasons for the society and feels that there is room for a completely distinct society, and that it needs to be completely distinct and not feed off the ACJS but work synergetically with the Association.

Hesh also commented that he sees no difficulty with a society as long as it is distinct from the ACJS. The ACJS is not large enough like the AJS to have subsections.

Sol raised the issue of financing what would appear to be a parallel organization. Ira noted that it would be very much a “bare bones” organization. For example there would be no subsidies for presenters. It would be financed totally through membership dues. The setting of the dues would be based on the needs of the organization. Discussion around the fact that Congress dues for participation are high.

Daniel noted that government funds are available if membership is maintained at a certain rate - to which Jesse responded that it is shared funding and that membership needs to be quite high in order to access government funds. He suggested that the society start small and that everything can be done through email and perhaps a small membership fee.

Ira put forth the motion that this meeting constitute the founding for the Canadian Society for Jewish Studies/la société canadienne pour les études juives on a shoestring budget and that initially it will participate in co-sponsored events until it achieves sufficient self-sufficiency.

Ira called the question - Ehud noted that there must be an easier path - perhaps a lobbying group should be constituted first as there is not really a place for Jewish studies as such - likes the idea of beginning small.

Question then is do we constitute a society or a lobbying group to keep in touch or keep a looser non-organizational context and work further for establishment to which Sol called out Just do it.

Bernie asked how would this affect the ACJS membership in terms of turnover and succession planning.

I) Ira again called the motion that the meeting constitute the founding of the Canadian Society for Jewish Studies/la société canadienne pour les études juives. Seconded by Steven Lapidus. Of the 15 present, 2 abstained and none opposed. Motion carried.

II) Jesse moved and Daniel seconded the adoption of the Bylaws noting that these are only the framework and that the Society is not tied to this exact phraseology. Passed.

III) Election of officers:

Ehud Ben Tsvi, Cheryl Jaffee, Steven Lapidus, Justin Lewis, Martin Lockshin. Richard Menkis, Ira Robinson, Randal Schnoor, Daniel Maoz, Jesse Vorst and Barbara Weiser.

There are 10 nominees and 9 positions. It was suggested that in the interests of gender parity that as two of the nominees were graduate students from the same department that Steven should withdraw.

The nine officers were approved and it was decided that they should decide amongst themselves who shall constitute the executive.

Prior to adjourning it was reiterated that the society should not move to become a Congress member but wait to gather strength.

Adjourned 9:30am (approximately)

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CSJS Bylaws Adopted in Winnipeg 2004

Proposal for a Canadian Society for Jewish Studies

1. Purpose:

The Canadian Society for Jewish Studies (CSJS) will provide a venue for the presentation of Jewish studies research primarily among faculty members, graduate students, and independent scholars living in Canada. One does not need to reside in Canada in order to be a member of the Society.

2. Annual Conference:

The CSJS will convene an annual conference to be held simultaneously with the annual conference of the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies (ACJS). A programme committee appointed by the Society's executive will send out a call for papers, evaluate the submissions and notify applicants of its decisions. All presenters must become members of the Society.

3. Executive:

The Society will be governed by an Executive consisting of a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and five members at large to be elected for a one year term at the annual meeting. The executive will appoint the programme committee, determine the amount of dues, and decide on other CSJS matters.

4. Duties of officers:

a. The president will conduct the day to day operations of the Society and will be responsible for initiating discussion, by email or other means, of issues which arise and require the attention of the executive.

b. The vice-president will succeed the president in case of resignation from office and will serve in lieu of the president in case of illness or other absence.

c. The treasurer will keep the society's financial and membership records.

d. The secretary will record and have charge of the minutes of each meeting.

Ira Robinson
Professor of Judaic Studies
Department of Religion
Concordia University
1455 De Maisonneuve Boulevard, West

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Canadian Society for Jewish Studies
Société canadienne d’études juives

University of Western Ontario, London

Monday, May 30, 2005

Minutes

Present: Robin Bergart (Guelph), Carl Ehrlich (Toronto), Andrea Gondor (Montreal), Howard Gontovnick (Montreal), Dan Heller (Toronto), Joe Heller (London), Cheryl Jaffee (Ottawa), Bernard Katz (Toronto), Susan Landau-Chark (Montreal), Steve Lapidus (Montreal), Norm Ravvin (Montreal), Ira Robinson (Montreal), Messod Salama (St. John’s), Randal Schnoor (Montreal), Daniel Maoz (Kitchener), Barbara Weiser (Montreal)

I. Robinson called the meeting to order at 4:40 p.m.

Approval of Agenda

S. Lapidus moved to approve. D. Maoz seconded. Agenda approved, with reversal of the order of items 6 and 7.

Approval of Minutes

D. Maoz moved to approve. S. Lapidus seconded. Minutes for Preliminary Meeting of May 30, 2004 in Winnipeg approved.

Report of President

I. Robinson presented an overview of the circumstances leading up to the preliminary meeting in May 2004 in Winnipeg and the decision to establish the CSJS.

Through subsequent e-mail communications, the group elected an Executive comprising a President (Ira Robinson), Vice-President (Richard Menkis, Vancouver), Treasurer (Martin Lockshin, Toronto) and Secretary (Cheryl Jaffee). Members of the Board are Justin Lewis (Kingston) Ehud Ben-Zvi (Edmonton), Jesse Vorst, Daniel Maoz, Randal Schnoor and Barbara Weiser.

After Board deliberation, a decision was taken to charge $20. for regular membership and $10. for students and seniors. Ira sent out a call for membership on December 2, 2004.

The CSJS listserv was set up through Yahoo and maintained by H. Gontovnick.

Ira said that CSJS had the potential to play a great role in the field of Jewish Studies in Canada, but that it was barely off the ground. He noted some of the excellent conferences which took place during 2005: Hassidic Storytelling (Queen’s), Jewish Immigrant Experience to North America (Western) and Jewish Diasporas: Myths and Realities (York). These conferences were not widely publicized. The CSJS could provide coordinated and broad publicity for conferences and events such as these.

Ira also noted the Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies, a co-publication since 1998 of the University of Saskatchewan and Florida International University as further example of under-publicized scholarship within Canada.

Ira explained that the current formal affiliation of ACJS and CSJS allows for the presentation of CSJS papers under the aegis of ACJS during the 2005 Congress. He requests that a more formalized procedure be established. In the meantime it is agreed that the Program Chair for CSJS will receive proposals for papers, on a year- by-year basis.

Steps for the immediate future:

A formal website will be set up. H. Gontovnick has agreed to continue with his responsibilities for the listserv and also take on this further challenge.

A decision will be required whether CSJS should initiate a relationship with the AJS as a regional sub-society. In the meantime, we are an affiliated society of the ACJS.

Question:

Messod Salama inquired whether there was a representative east of Montreal on the CSJS Board. Ira responded that none was at the Winnipeg meeting.

Report of the Treasurer

In the absence of treasurer Martin Lockshin, Ira presented our “small but solvent” status: Income from dues: $420. Expenses:$80. ($50. ACJS affiliation; $30. bank fees) Balance: $340.

Dan Heller moved to approve. Joe Heller seconded. Report approved by Ira Robinson.

Secretary’s Report

C. Jaffee reported that the CSJS membership database has 26 paid members. Seventeen of these are regular memberships and 9 are students or retirees. Fifteen members are based in Ontario, 9 in Quebec, and one each in Alberta and B.C. Total income from dues is $430.

Steve Lapidus motioned to approve. Karl Ehrlich seconded. Report approved by Ira.

Election of Executive and Board

Current members of the Executive were asked whether they wished to continue for another year. Ira Robinson and Cheryl Jaffee agreed to be renominated. Martin Lockshin (absent) has consented to be renominated, but prefers not to be Treasurer. Richard Menkis (absent) and Justin Lewis are undecided. Ehud Ben Zvi asked not to be renominated. Barbara Weiser, Daniel Maoz, Randal Schnoor, Jesse Vorst (absent), Messod Salama, Steve Lapidus and Carl Ehrlich have all agreed to join the Board. The slate is: I. Robinson – President; D. Maoz – Vice-President; C. Ehrlich – Treasurer; C. Jaffee – Secretary; M. Vorst; R. Schnoor; M. Salama; S. Lapidus; B. Weiser;
M. Lockshin.

R. Schnoor moved to accept the slate. C. Ehrlich seconded. No opposition or abstentions. Motion carried.

What is to be Done?

Everything needs to be done. Ira pointed out that CSJS is unknown and that there is both dissent regarding the need for the CSJS and scepticism about its prospects for success. He noted that up to now he has been the primary source of initiatives, and hope that this changes. We have to publicize the Society and raise membership numbers. Ideas, comments and reactions are requested. Howard noted that a professionally designed website with content would be forthcoming. However, we need to register a domain name and discuss further which features to incorporate, e.g. online membership and payment, and how best to do it, e.g. PayPal. Howard will investigate.

Ira suggested that, at least initially, membership efforts concentrate on Faculty and Graduate Students, and thought that “one-on-one button-holing” was the most effective method of communication. He said that emails, listserv broadcasting and circulars to Departments have not yielded much response to date due to the excessive amounts of mail received by individuals. Dan Heller and Joe Heller confirmed that they will pursue personal contacts on campus.

Carl Ehrlich requested that the membership list be circulated among the Executive, so that we know who is already on board. Steve Lapidus suggested that a standard distribution list be compiled for electronic communication.

Questions:

Andrea Gondor: What will be the procedure for next year’s conference?

Answer: Under the aegis of ACJS, the CSJS Program Chair will send out a call for papers around November.

Daniel Maoz: What if we are inundated by student paper proposals?

Answer: The Executive will strike a Programme Committee to screen papers, students and faculty alike. For students, a Professor’s recommendation may be sought.

Cheryl Jaffee: How many CSJS papers may be accepted in a given year?

Randall Schnoor replied that it would be decided on a year-by-year basis. Perhaps 3 or 4 papers given in a concurrent session – although this was not a popular format in a previous year. Longer days are another possible format, but this too has its own difficulty for attendees.

Andrea Gondor: Can CSJS piggyback on other conferences for publicity?

Ira replied that he would rather hope to see CSJS publicize those conferences on its own website. This is something of value CSJS can offer to potential members.

Ira stressed again that buttonholing is the way to inform people. There is a great need to establish a place in which Jewish Studies papers can be delivered in Canada

Good and Welfare

Ira noted that it is the 36^th day of the Omer. Daniel proposes a resolution to commend the ACJS for its generosity. Susan Landau-Chark seconds. All in favour.

Ira adjourned the meeting at 5:50 p.m.

                 Canadian Society for Jewish Studies
                   Société canadienne d'étdues juives

                     York University, Toronto, Ontario
                              Tuesday, May 30th, 2006.

Minutes

Present: Daniel Maoz (Waterloo), Ira Robinson (Montreal), Steven Lapidus (Montreal), Justin Jaron Lewis (Kingston), Randal Schnoor (Toronto), Andrea Gondos (Montreal), Eric Lawee (Toronto), Sara Horowitz (Toronto), Meira Josephy (Toronto), Martin Lockshin (Toronto). Regrets: Carl Ehrlich (Toronto).

Ira called the meeting to order at 12:06 PM.

Approval of Agenda

Steven moved to approve agenda with amendment proposed by Ira to add item 7.5 to discuss an expanded role for the vice president. Seconded by Daniel.

Approval of Minutes

Ira moved to change Gondor under "Questions" (p. 3) of the 2005 minutes to Gondos. Daniel moved to approve 2005 minutes with recommended change. Seconded by Steven. No oppositions or abstentions.

President's report

Ira observed that despite the minimalist mandate of CSJS, quite a lot has been accomplished since last year, namely: a) Howard Gontovnick has created a listserv on Yahoo with upwards of 160 postings/announcements. There remains the need to alert those responsible for Jewish studies at various Canadian institutions to submit announcements to the CSJS listserv to ensure that major events are listed there. b) Howard Gontovnick has been successful in upgrading and improving the website. c) The current (2006) conference is the first autonomous program of the CSJS and the extensive response to the call for papers evinces a strong constituency and potential for growth in membership. Daniel noted that he knows of at least 3 scholars who would have liked to, but were unable to, attend the conference due to conflicts with other learned societies.

Treasurer's Report

In the treasurer's absence (Carl Ehrlich), report given by Ira. Current balance of funds: $859.24, up from $485 of 1 year ago. Potential (annual) payments:
$60. for bank service fees $53.50 for website fee $50 for affiliation with ACJS
$50 (approx) for membership mailings (spring and fall).

Most of the funds are the result of membership fees with modest donations. In response to Daniel's question, Ira responded that CSJS cannot give charitable donation tax receipts.

Membership Report

Ira reported that there are 44 names on the mailing list and 34 paid-up members, of whom 24 are regular members and 10 are student/senior.

Steven moved to approve all reports. Seconded by Randal. No objections or abstentions.

Elections

CSJS has neither a nominating committee nor a slate. An executive is elected annually at the AGM, based upon the votes of those present at the meeting.

The 2005-2006 slate was composed of: Ira Robinson (President), Daniel Maoz (Vice-President), Carl Ehrlich (Treasurer), Cheryl Jaffee (Secretary), Jessee Vorst, Randal Schnoor, Messod Salama, Steven Lapidus, Barbara Weiser, Martin Lockshin. In preparation for the AGM, Ira emailed all officers and members of the executive to inquire if they wanted to remain their positions. As these positions are limited to one year, it was assumed that those who did not answer chose not to continue and thus a new (one-year) slate was presented. Between those who contacted Ira personally and those present at the meeting, the following slate was proposed:

Ira Robinson (President), Daniel Maoz (Vice-President), Carl Ehrlich (Treasurer), Cheryl Jaffee (Secretary). There were no objections.

The following slate of officers was proposed: Randal Schnoor, Steven Lapidus, Andrea Gondos, Justin Jaron Lewis, Meira Josephy.There were no objections.

Relationship with ACJS

Ira noted how happy he was with how the relationship with ACJS, despite some concerns among some ACJS members, has turned out. He is very pleased with the cooperation and symbiosis. CSJS could not yet stand on its own as an independent society and hence greatly appreciates the support of ACJS.

Randal, as president of ACJS, agreed that in spite of the tension, the relationship has developed nicely and the dissenting voices have died down. He is supportive of CSJS and, while he believes it is prudent to continue the relationship, he wishes to consult the ACJS board before submitting a formal plan. He advocates continuing on a year-to-year basis.

Ira suggested that CSJS formally thank ACJS for the latter's help, to be accompanied by a $100 allocation. Ira acknowledges that what CSJS gains from association with ACJS is worth more than $100, but as the CSJS budget is limited, it shall serve as a token of appreciation. Some discussion ensued as to whether the CSJS could not offer more money. Ira noted the importance of maintaining some balance for CSJS for unforeseen needs. Daniel then explained his proposal that CSJS allocate 10% of all dues up to a maximum of $300 to ACJS. He also has a contact who would be willing to donate to CSJS annually until such time as CSJS reaches a critical mass of $3000 annually in dues. Ira suggested that at this time, calculations remain simple. Ira formally moved to thank ACJS for the latter's help, to be accompanied by a $100 allocation. Seconded by Daniel. No opposition or abstentions.

Role of Vice-President

Ira suggested that vice-president's role be expanded to include that of chair of the program committee. He moved to change by-law 4b (on the role of the vice-president) such that the vice-president will serve ex officio as chair of the program committee. Daniel asked if Steven, who served as chair of program committee for 2006 meeting, would relinquish his responsibility. Steven responded affirmatively. Ira mentioned that Steven did a great job on this year's conference and deserves our thanks. Steven seconded Ira's motion on the change to the by-laws. No objections or abstentions.

2007 Conference

Ira noted that as the 2007 conference will be held in Saskatoon, there may be a smaller attendance, although he reiterated that following the Learneds/Congress of the Humanities is still a good plan. CSJS will participate in Saskatoon but should consider a conference on its own in Central Canada. Daniel thought that would be a good litmus test for CSJS. Ira noted that Carleton is starting a new Jewish Studies program. Steven noted, that while he likes the idea, a second conference may negatively affect attendance in Saskatoon. Meira added that there are video-conferencing possibilities that would facilitate on-line attendance for those who choose not to travel. Ira noted that the timing of the second conference may be difficult and the executive should discuss the issue at greater length. Steven added that a conference in Montreal or Ottawa would facilitate the involvement of more Francophone presentations. Ira moved to give the executive the mandate to explore the possibility of a second conference in Central Canada in addition to the 2007 Saskatoon conference. Steven seconded. No oppositions or abstentions.

Good and Welfare

Relationship with other academic organizations

Daniel reported that he has investigated the possibility of CSJS being linked with WUJS on their website and letterhead. Dr. Ronela Merdler, executive secretary of WUJS, has expressed interest in the connection, but is concerned that CSJS may yet not have a large enough membership. Daniel will continue to pursue this
possibility. Sara noted that WUJS tends to have inconsistent membership with many organizations maintaining membership only in meeting years and letting it lapse otherwise. If CSJS proposes to maintain regular yearly membership, this may serve to sway WUJS to accept the proposal. She also noted that AJS has affiliate organizations listed on their website, which also permits dues payment on-line to AJS which then reimburses the affiliate. There would be some complications due to currency rates between US and Canadian funds. Among the ensuing discussion, it was notes that the visibility of association with WUJS and/or AJS would be beneficial to CSJS. At this time, it was decided that more details on affiliation with WUJS and AJS would be pursued.

Randal noted that both AJS and AAJR have published responses to the boycott of Israeli academics and universities instituted by the London-based National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education on May 29th. He asked whether CSJS should also publish a response. Ira agreed that the question is important and the executive needs to put serious and immediate consideration to this possibility. Sara agreed that since the boycott is specifically directed at academics and universities, it would be appropriate for learned societies, such as CSJS, to respond. AJS has contacted other academic societies who have agreed to sign onto their protest. Justin suggested gaining support of non-Jewish academic bodies to object publicly to the boycott. Ira encouraged all present to pursue this possibility with their respective universities. Daniel noted that CUPE (Ontario) has passed a resolution for Canada to divest of Israeli products and thinks that CSJS should respond. Martin observed that, although individuals should respond to the CUPE resolution, it may not be the best strategy of an academic society. Eric agreed, noting that getting involved in political concerns can often backfire. The CSJS, he noted, should remain focused on academic issues.

Ira noted that it was the 47th day of the Omer.

Justin moved to adjourn. Seconded by Steven. Meeting adjourned at 1:28 PM.

2007 CSJS Annual Meeting

Date: May 29, 2007

Location: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon

Present:

Dr. Ira Robinson (Concordia University), Dr. Justin Jaron Lewis (Queen’s University), Dr. Daniel Maoz (University of Waterloo), Dr. Braj Sinha (University of Saskatchewan), Dr. Messod Salama (Memorial University of Newfoundland), Stephanie Tara Schwartz (University of Ottawa), Andrea Gondos (Concordia University)

1. Call to Order

Motion to approve: Dr. Sinha

Seconded by: Stephanie Tara Schwartz

2. Approval of Agenda

Motion to approve: Dr.Sinha

Seconded by: Stephanie Tara Schwartz

3. Approval of Minutes

Minutes, recorded at the annual meeting in 2006, were presented.

Motion to approve: Dr. Daniel Maoz

Seconded by: Dr. Justin Jaron Lewis

4. President’s Report

A brief introduction to the society was presented by the President, Dr. Ira Robinson. He explained that the initial goal of CSJS was to organize one conference per annum in collaboration with ACJS - this goal has been successfully achieved as attested to by last year’s conference at York University in Toronto and this year’s conference at University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

A second goal of the association was to maintain a website which has been functioning well thanks to the voluntary efforts of Howard Gontovnick. The cost of maintaining the website is an annual registration fee of $50 (plus tax). The website has already proved useful in propagating CSJS as a student from New Brunswick recently found the association by finding the website on the internet.

The third goal was the creation of a Yahoo discussion group, which costs nothing while it generates discussion and awareness about the society. The fourth aim was the organization of a supplementary conference that would further increase the visibility of the society in the academic community. This conference has been successfully planned out and will take place in Ottawa on October 24-25, 2007. This venue is organized in conjunction with two Ottawa universities, Carlton and University of Ottawa, as well as the Lowy Collection at the National Library. The two Ottawa universities have recently inaugurated new programs in Judaic studies and as such the October conference is targeted at promoting these programs as well.

5 a. Vice-President, Program Chair’s Report, Presented by: Dr. Daniel Maoz

Steven Lapidus was extremely helpful as last year’s program chair. Also Aviva and Susan were of great help in various aspects of organization. The papers submitted for this year’s CSJS conference were of very good quality, all papers were sent out to reviewers and the selection process followed rigorous standards. Dr. Maoz stressed that not all submissions were accepted and the ones that were included in this year’s program were of very high quality.

b. Treasurer’s Report, compiled by Dr. Carl Erhlich

As of April 30 the association has the following financial status:

Balance of funds: 1122.77

Money collected since last year’s meeting: 540.00

Amount spent since last year’s meeting:                                          - 276.47
Details of amount spent:                                                                 -   150.00
*contribution to ACJS ($50 association fee, $100 gratitude fee)

Bank fees -50.80
Postage expense and other mailing fees - 75.67

The association is in good financial shape. The same finances will be planned for next year. A 2-300 dollar contribution is planned for the upcoming Ottawa conference from the budget. Dr. Robinson explained that in consultation with an accountant he was informed that the association is not required to file taxes at this point due to the small scope of its financial operation.

c. Secretary’s Report

The secretary, Cheryl Jaffee, has tendered her resignation for the upcoming year as secretary of the association. Her report was read out by the president, Dr. Ira Robinson:

CSJS Membership Report - May 2007

Cheryl Jaffee, Secretary

Greetings everyone,

CSJS now has 30 current dues paying members, 16 of which are faculty, 9 graduate students/seniors and 5 librarians and independant researchers. Of these 30, 19 are in Ontario, 7 in Québec, 2 in Nova Scotia and 1 each in Manitoba and Alberta. In total, there are 54 names in our data base, indicating 24 lapsed memberships from the time we began in 2005.

Now, if we add in another 16 new memberships (still outstanding) from presenters at our October Jewish Studies Colloquium in Ottawa, we reach a total of 46 paid members to date in 2007.

For comparitive purposes, in May 2005 there were 26 paid members, of which 17 were at the faculty level and 9 at the student/senior level.

In May 2006 there were 34 paid members, of whom 24 were faculty and 10 student/senior.

From 2005 to 2007, our membership has grown by over 10 paid members each year.

2007 is not even half over. If you have not yet joined our Society, please take the opportunity to do so now. We need the financial and moral support of continuing and new members to keep us going.

Suggestion was made by Dr. Robinson to reward her hard work with a gift.

Motion to pass Secretary’s report.

Approved by: Dr. Justin Jaron Lewis

Seconded by: Dr. Masod Salama

Motion was passed.

Motion to empower President to purchase a token of appreciation for the outgoing Secretary in an amount of max. $50.

Approved by: all present

Abstained: none

Motion passed.

6. Elections

President: Dr. Ira Robinson

Vice-President: Dr. Daniel Maoz

Treasurer: Dr. Carl Ehrlich

All above functionaries have expressed the wish to continue in their present status for 2007 - 2008 year.

Secretary: Cheryl Jaffee has expressed her wish to step down, new election is called

Executive: Meira Josephi, Steven Lapidus, Dr. Justin Jaron Lewis, Andrea Gondos, Randall Schnoor. Meira Josephi stepped down for 2007 – 2008. all others volunteered to continue.

President called for new election for the position of Secretary and presented the duties and responsibilities of this position. Andrea Gondos volunteered for the position of Secretary.

Stephanie Tara Schwartz (University of Ottawa) and Dr. Braj Sinha (University of Saskatchewan) have volunteered to join the board.

Motion to approve new appointments.

All was in favor, none abstained.

CSJS Executive for 2007 – 2008:

President: Dr. Ira Robinson

Vice-President: Dr. Daniel Maoz

Treasurer: Dr. Carl Ehrlich

Secretary: Andrea Gondos

Members of Executive:

Steven Lapidus, Dr. Justin Jaron Lewis, Dr. Randall Schnoor, Dr. Braj Sinha, Stephanie Tara Schwartz

8. Relationship with ACJS

Dr. Robinson has explained that there have been a few issues in the past year regarding the relationship between the CSJS and the ACJS. More specifically, some presenters at the CSJS last year failed to pay the ACJS conference fee which should have been mandatory as the CSJS is affiliated with and functions currently under the banner of the ACJS. As a result, the ACJS was short $80. Dr. Maoz responded that he is currently trying to fix the situation by contacting those presenters that were remiss and asking them to pay these fees belatedly.

Dr. Robinson highlighted the gratitude felt on the part of the CSJS to ACJS for its continued support and asked those present to authorize him to award $100 to ACJS.

Seconded by: Dr. Justin Jaron Lewis

Discussion:

The question was raised whether $100 contribution is a sufficient amount or should it be increased. Stephanie Tara Schwartz suggested that we should leave it at $100 for this year and next year once we look at the finances of the association we can decide to change it.

A question was put by Stephanie Tara Schwartz inquiring about whether students are eligible to apply to ACJS for conference funding if there present at the CSJS. She explained that she had written to two different people at ACJS and received conflicting advice. Dr. Maoz volunteered to follow up this question with ACJS.

Motion to empower the President to forward $100 contribution to ACJS

Vote: all in favor

9. Ottawa Conference

This was largely covered in President’s report.

Dr. Robinson explained that there was an excellent response to the Call for Papers, resulting in over 30 submissions:

2/3 from university professors

1/3 from graduate students

30% of the papers are in French

There is also an international component to the conference as some of the submissions have come from countries such as Israel and France.

A question was raised by Stephanie Tara Schwartz inquiring about how the conference was advertised. She stated that she did not see or receive the Call for Papers. Dr. Robinson responded that the ACJS sent advertisement out to its own mailing list contacts while universities pledged to advertise according to their own means.

Stephanie asked if there was a possibility for her to still submit a proposal. The President suggested that he would contact Cheryl Jaffee to see if Stephanie’s submission might still be considered.

Dr Sinha presented a short summary of the precarious position that the Department of Religious Studies finds itself t the University of Saskatchewan. He asked CSJS to write a letter of support to University Officials that would outline the society’s support for the continuation of the Religious Studies program at the University of Saskatchewan.

Motion to support the motion: Dr. Daniel Maoz

Seconded by: Stephanie Tara Schwartz

Dr. Salama added that the letter should stress how much the CSJS appreciated the warm welcome that the Department of Religious Studies extended to the particiapnts during the conference.

Motion to approve: all but one

Abstain: Dr. Justin Jaron Lewis

Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by the President.

No objection.

                            Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the CSJS
                                             Date: May 29, 2008
                          Location: University of British Columbia, June 2, 2008.

Minutes

Present: Ira Robinson, Justin Jaron Lewis, Randall Schnoor, Hannah Mayne, Ben Baader, Messod Salama, Andrea Gondos

Minutes recorded by Justin Jaron Lewis

1. PRESIDENT'S REPORT (Ira Robinson)

-- We are a minimalist society.

-- We have created a place for general Jewish studies at the Congress, through symbiosis with ACJS; there are occasional frictions only because the relationship is not totally clear and academics are hard to direct, but there has been good will from ACJS.

-- Thus our original goal has been fulfilled.

-- A step beyond that was taken last year: in partnership with three other organizations, a conference on Jewish Studies was held in Ottawa (Fall 2007) and was quite successful

-- The organization thus has the potential to go beyond the original idea; but this requires work and effort from more people. A possible goal: Become a regional body of AJS (like the Western and Midwestern regions); that would require reasonably full coverage of people involved in Jewish Studies in Canada -- professors, students, librarians. We are from that, but could try to get there; we have some resources. We could coast along as we are -- or take further steps, as we have already done for the Ottawa conference, and by co-sponsoring an AJS reception at the Toronto AJS conference; this just involved writing a cheque and got us some coverage in the AJS program.

2. TREASURER'S REPORT (Ira Robinson for Carl Ehrlich)

All our resources are in a chequing account last year's balance $1171.77 Revenue $820, including a $100 grant from the Department of Religion at the University of Saskatchewan (site of last year's Congress) -- thanks to Dr. B. Sinha of the University of Saskatchewan for arranging this. Revenue also includes memberships -- 30 regular, 12 students, total $720 Expenditures: $835.68: bank charges $56.76, mailings $106.23, AJS reception $202.57 (US $200); Ottawa conference $267.12 [ads in Ottawa Jewish newspaper]; website $53; ACJS $150 [$50 for our institutional membership and $100 extra as voted last year]. Our current balance is $1162.09. Thus the ordinary running of the organization is minimal (except for special expenses) and resources are growing. We can do things. Without special expenses, the organization costs about $400 a year to run.

Discussion: Justin asked if there is a better deal available for bank charges. Ira said that Canadian banks generally charge about $5 a month. Randall recommends President's Choice Financial online banking which offers a free chequing account, and will look into this with our treasurer, Carl. Hannah asked about mailing charges - could everything be done electronically? Ira noted that there are just 2 mailings per year -- a call for papers and a conference program. There are members who prefer paper mail. Randall agreed with this point, while Hannah remained concerned. Justin and Ben suggested asking members if they prefer not to receive paper mail. After discussion this did not seem worth the effort. Ira noted that ACJS is spending $60 a month on their website. We're not. Thanks to Howard Gontovnick for website maintenance.

3. PROGRAM REPORT (Ira Robinson for Daniel Maoz)

Thanks to Randy Schnoor (ACJS president) for our place at Congress, and to Aviva Atlani, program coordinator for ACJS/CSJS, for her work in coordinating several organizations and many contributors; and to Ira for gently dealing with issues as they arise. Bernie Katz reminds us to keep in touch with members who have not registered or paid dues. This includes 3 "repeated offenders". There were some expressions of outrage at this point: Why keep this up? Are some presenters entitled to avoid paying dues, while others are not? Recurrent concerns in programming:

-- Requests for extended deadlines. We have been flexible, but this creates frustrating problems with scheduling.

-- Increasing requests for changes to times, titles and even days of presentations

-- Need for people to chair sessions -- Daniel, seeing that the program would be changing until the last minute, did not appoint chairs. All these concerns have domino effects, more so at this year's conference than before. New rules suggested by Daniel:

-- Nobody gets into the conference until their registration and dues are paid up.

-- Final program will be determined no later than three weeks before Congress, and then session chairs will be appointed.

Discussion:

Thanks voted to Daniel for his good work in putting the program together despite these difficulties (moved by Justin, seconded by Randall). Randall added thanks from ACJS.

Ira brought Daniel's suggested rules to a vote, so that they can be
published in a call for papers. The rules as presented to the meeting were:

(1) No person or panel receives acceptance before their dues and registrations are paid in full and notification of such is received and confirmed by the finance office. Tentative acceptance may be communicated but the names should not appear on any preliminary program until this is complete. In my opinion, we have been told once too often that “the cheque is in the mail” when it never was and still isn’t.

(2) A final program is set as such no later than three weeks before Congress begins. Thereafter, Chairs will be appointed and added to the final program.

Discussion:

There was general agreement that Daniel's Rule 2 might unduly limit the flexibility of the program chair and be impractical. Randall: Thanks again to Daniel. The ACJS has discussed the issue of delinquent memberships through CSJS; the treasurer is upset and Randall shares Daniel's frustration. General discussion: Should CSJS, like AJS and now ACJS, have a rule that you can't even submit a proposal without being all paid up?

Hannah: unifying procedures would make things simpler for everyone, and make our organization more formal and serious Messod: This tighter rule might discourage new members - people who otherwise might submit papers on spec, and join if the papers are accepted.

Randall: ACJS is becoming stricter because there are more glitches each year. Suggestion: CSJS membership dues must be paid to have a paper proposal considered (they are only $20, or $10 for students). Final acceptance of a paper, including it in the program, would be contingent on registration with Congress and ACJS.

General discussion: good to reduce friction. After discussion, Daniel's Rule 1 was unanimously accepted with amendments as per Randall's suggestion, rule 2 was accepted as a recommendation to the program chair rather than a firm limitation (moved by Ben, seconded by Messod).

4. MEMBERSHIP REPORT (Ira Robinson)

We have 41 members and 63 people on our mailing list. Ira suggests a small telephone campaign to get the 22 people on the list who are not paid-up members to become such.

Goal: Everyone professionally interested in Jewish Studies in Canada should be a member. This is not the case now. Dues are minimal, but "we don't give too much bang for the buck."

To do: Let colleagues know about CSJS, that it is worth joining, for what it is and what it could become.

In response to a question from Randall, Ira noted that there has not been much growth in membership since the organization began; but membership growth has not been a priority yet. We have had a few new members. Perhaps 80-100 people in Canada are professionally engaged in Jewish Studies in one way or another. Only one of them has made a negative comment about CSJS that Ira knows of, but others are conspicuous by their absence.

Randall notes that having just started in 2004 we've done very well -- thanks to Ira.

Ira notes that as president of ACJS he thought it would be a snap to double the membership -- it wasn't. On the other hand, when AJS started in the 1960s, the word was that serious people weren't joining. The first AJS conference (1969) had 40 people. Things have changed.

5. ELECTIONS

Ira has contacted current members of the executive about their willingness to continue; non-response has been taken to mean no.

Thanks to Dr. Braj Sinha for his service on the executive, now ending.

The following executive was elected:

President: Ira Robinson

VP / conference program: Daniel Maoz

Secretary/membership: Andrea Gondos

Treasurer: Carl Ehrlich

Members at large: Justin Jaron Lewis, Steven Lapidus, Randall Schnoor, Stephanie Tara Schwartz, Ben Baader, Yael HaLevi Wise, Richard Menkis, Hannah Mayne.

Ira emphasized the non-hierarchical nature of CSJS.

Discussion of having such a large executive relative to the membership. There was agreement that it's good to have more voices in discussions and more people to be involved in potential projects.

6. GOOD AND WELFARE

Discussion of where we are going as an organization. There are no current initiatives on the table other than the usual annual conference. The executive may discuss possibilities. Motion (Justin, seconded Messod) to donate $180 to ACJS in token of our appreciation [and our "Jewish guilt" over defaulting members] -- passed.

The executive will correspond by email about strategies for increasing our membership and raising our profile, and possible new initiatives.

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