Call for Nominations: Anti-Racism Community Task-Force Members [Closed]

Deadline: Monday, September 15, 2025

The Peretz Centre is calling for nominations for appointed members of our Anti-Racism Community Task Force, a key part of the Discovering Doikayt initiative. 

Edited illustration from election poster of the General Jewish Labour Bund (artist unknown) , Kyiv, ca. 1917 (via Wikimedia Commons)

This Community Task Force will engage in meaningful, hands-on work to create concrete policy recommendations that strengthen our commitment to and capacity for action against racism both within our community and in the interest of our community as we combat white supremacy and antisemitism.

We will be using an anti-oppressive framework to address systemic power imbalances that lead to inequality in our cultural spaces. We will work to create a richer, more vibrant, and equitable community at Peretz by supporting solidarity with oppressed groups in our society. We will face our community’s implication in larger social harms, including colonialism, racism, and classism, and consider how to seek repair and redress. We will find ways to advance equity within our volunteer-run institution.

We hope that our work can be used to advance anti-racism and equality within Jewish cultural and educational spaces across Canada and that this ongoing work will be done in the spirit of reciprocity and menshlekhkayt (kindness, decency, humaneness). We must work to fight antisemitism and racism by learning from and sharing in the struggle for social justice.

What the Task Force Will Do

Over five meetings (October 2025 – March 2026), members will:

• Examine how the Peretz Centre and, by extension, other Jewish institutions can become more inclusive and equitable by studying comparable policies that address white supremacy in Canada and the structural inequalities faced by Indigenous peoples, racialized Canadians, migrants, and refugees.

• Develop recommendations to 

  1. Actively work against the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous people from their land as well as recognize the responsibilities that non-Indigenous Jewish Canadians hold towards reconciling our own involvement in colonization. 

  2. Address the root causes of antisemitism and find links with the broader anti-racism movement to strengthen our shared objectives. 

  3. Address racism within the Peretz community related to the historical links between whiteness and Jewish settlement here. 

  4. Make community programs more inclusive to a broader swath of the population in Vancouver and the surrounding area, regardless of ethnic, religious, or cultural backgrounds. 

• Collaborate closely with peers to prepare a final report for publication in March 2026. 

• Ensure that the work we undertake is impactful, empathetic, and designed to be approachable for all members of the Peretz community.

Examples of Tasks we will undertake: 

Meeting with community partners to form collaborations and/or joint programming

Research and discussion on anti-oppression best practices within similar community organizations

Learning from trainers, organizers, and teachers from other backgrounds about their experience in this work

Engaging with anti-oppression training and intercultural and intergenerational exchanges

Mobilizing knowledge about anti-racism and structural barriers to inclusivity within our community

Drafting proposals for recommendations on methods of promoting cultural safety, social justice, and intersectionality

Drafting evidence-based anti-racist policies, potentially including  safety and security policies, community agreements, equitable employment practices, honoraria, decision-making trees, policy review guidelines, conflict resolution processes, cultural programming, etc.

Who We’re Looking For

The Peretz Centre will make the best effort to meet the needs of a diverse group of Task Force members, including accommodations related to accessibility, childcare, transportation, and translation.  

We’re seeking Peretz members who: 

• Work well in a collaborative, team-based setting. 

• Bring unique perspectives and diverse skills that enrich the discussion. 

• Have lived experience that informs anti-racism and equity work. 

• Have intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn. 

• Are willing to actively contribute time, energy, and thoughtful engagement throughout the process. 

• Are comfortable reading and potentially writing about policy with the help of our team. 

• Have a good sense of humour and perspective. 

• Are Peretz members in good standing.

Nominate Peretz Members (Including Yourself!)

To complement recruitment to the Anti-Racism Community Task Force, we invite members of the Peretz community to recommend people for this important work. Nominations will be reviewed by Peretz staff and volunteers, who will appoint five core members. Each member will receive $500 stipends for their work.

The five core members are expected to contribute:

• 2 hours per month for meetings and learning (workshops, etc.)

• 2 hours per month of research/policy work per month

We welcome and encourage self-nominations for members who are interested in participating in this project.

Nominations may also be submitted for advisory members who may wish to contribute voluntarily and who directly expand the reach/scope/representation of the Task Force’s work.

This is work with real impact—a chance to help shape the future of our community in a more just and inclusive direction. Please join us!

The deadline for nominations is Monday, September 15th, 2025.

Submit Nomination

Can’t Commit to the Task Force? Join the Discussion Circles

We know not everyone has the time to commit to regular Task Force meetings. If you’d still like to contribute your ideas and lived experience, you can participate in a series of Discussion Circles over the coming months. These circles will give community members the opportunity to share perspectives, provide input, and help shape the recommendations — ensuring that more voices are heard in this process. 

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About the Peretz Centre

The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture was founded in 1945 to establish and conduct a school that provides students of all ages with a progressive and modern Jewish cultural education.

Located in Vancouver, BC  on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples, we hold classes, lectures, exhibitions, concerts, holiday celebrations and similar gatherings in order to teach and advance the cause of progressive and modern Jewish learning, culture, and education and the Yiddish language. Our doors are open to people of diverse cultures, beliefs, genders, and sexual orientation.

The Anti-Racism Community Task Force is a part of the Peretz Centre's Discovering Doikayt initiative. We acknowledge the support of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation with funding provided by the Government of Canada.