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The aim of this thesis is to study the problem of change in Jewish religious life. At the outset, a brief historical review of the development of Jewish religious law is sketched In order to introduce the reader to some of the religious problems which have faced the Jews during the past two centuries. The second chapter outlines the four most important modern approaches to the problem of change: Reform, Neo-Orthodox, Conservative, and Reconstructionist. In connection with each of these movements, the reader will find a brief history, explanation of principles, and evaluation. A study of Jewish religious life in Vancouver is presented in the third chapter to show the extent of social change away from the norm of Orthodoxy that has taken place in the Jewish religious life of this community. Wherever possible, comparisons are made with the Jewish community of Minneapolis, one of the few that have been studied, in order to ascertain if Vancouver is typical. In the last chapter certain conclusions are reached about the need for change in Jewish religious life. Conclusions are reached after considering the history of Jewish religious law, the modern attempts to change this law, and the extent to which contemporary Jews observe Jewish religious law. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

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The purpose of this study is to examine the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services (JIAS) as an example of an ethnic lobby in the Canadian political system. The research explores how in-group and external political factors influence the techniques and effectiveness of JIAS within the immigration policy arena. Specifically, this paper examines how JIAS' lobbying efforts are influenced as a result of issues emerging from within the organization (e.g. structure, hierarchy, leadership, etc), and those arising from within the organization's constituency: Canadian Jews as a whole, and other organizations within the Jewish polity. Further, the broader context of public opinion and the Canadian immigration system are explored to determine how each affects JIAS' advocacy efforts. The political system is examined from the perspective of the structure and agendas operating at three levels of government involved in the development and implementation of immigration policy (the Department of Immigration, Legislative and Senate committees on immigration and employment, and the Cabinet).

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This study investigates the phenomenon of a communal Jewish organization, the National Budgeting Conference (NBC). In essence, the NBC is in charge of allocating money to national organizations through contributions collected from each local community. This unique arrangement doesn't exist in other Jewish communities around the globe; the common procedure is that every local federation allocates money for the local needs. / The objective of this dissertation is to follow the activities of the NBC from a strategic management point of view. So far, almost the entire body of literature on Jewish organizations stem from a political science and an ethnicity point of view. My assumption is that by conducting the study from a management perspective, I have been able to research topics that usually do not receive a lot of attention in literature about Jewish organizations; some of these topics include whether and to what extent environmental elements in the community, as well as power relations, influence the decision-making process. I also focused on the NBC's structure, outcomes, and chances of survival. I concluded that the NBC operates within a very fluid and unstable environment, and as a result, it will have to monitor its interests carefully and adapt in a slow, incremental fashion if it wishes to increase its chances of survival.

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This study investigates the phenomenon of ethnic interest groups as domestic sources of influence on the making of foreign policy on a cross-national basis. The attempt is made first to develop a framework for comparing theoretically the role of ethnic groups in various governmental systems. Once completed, the various conceptual assumptions are applied to the activities of domestic ethnic interest groups in the United States and Canada concerned with policy for the Middle East and the Arab-Israel conflict. The focus is primarily on the American and Canadian pro-Israel lobbies during the period between October 1973 and September 1982. Data for domestic Arab ethnic constituencies are also considered where relevant, but more as logical counter-points to the North American Jewish communities than as bases for full and complete cross-ethnic comparison. The principal objective of this study is to compare the political influence of two interest groups of the same faith and fundamental purpose but of different systems of government and political cultures.

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