Toronto (special) -- From the street, only a portion of the complex at 4600 Bathurst peeks above ground: the rest of the two-building complex is nestled in a valley of Jewish pride.

Here in one building are the Canadian Jewish Congress, which handles external affairs for the Jewish community, and the United Jewish Appeal/ Federation of Greater Toronto, which is the umbrella agency overseeing internal affairs. In the same office building -- known as the Lipa Green Center -- are such agencies as the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society; Jewish Family and Child Services; the Canada-Israel Experience Center, the Jewish National Fund, a Jewish public library and a Holocaust study center.

The other building in the complex is the Bathurst Jewish Community Center. It is surrounded by lawns and tennis courts, and in this quiet complex are programs for the aged, camping for the young and squash and racquetball courts and other facilities for amateur athletes, as well as a lecture hall capable of accommodating 800 people.

Howard English, communications director for UJA/ Federation of Greater Toronto, says the clustering of Jewish agencies is only one sign of the unity of Toronto's Jews. "I guess outside of Israel, I would consider this the premier city certainly in North America and perhaps the world for the quality of Jewish life," English asserts. "Everybody on the religious spectrum in this city--most people--feel a strong link between them and a chain of history that goes back thousands of years." The link finds expression in "a fantastic range of Jewish services for all aspects of the Jewish spectrum," he

Harold English at UJA/ Federation office

said. "We have Conservative day schools, Orthodox day schools, Reform day schools and an ample number of synagogues for every single denomination." 

While noting that there are differences and controversies among the Jewish religious movements, English said in Toronto there is a history of not letting those differences interfere with the common task.

"Toronto became a federated community a long time ago, roughly 1917 (when) a multitude of charities joined together to form a federated fundraising campaign," English said. "So our history of a federated campaign goes back decades to the early part of the 20th century and I think that has an enormous impact on unity in this community."

Additionally, he said, "this community was built, probably more than any other community in North America, on societies and landsmannschaften (associations of people from the same villages) -- those wonderful organizations formed by immigrants staring in the early 1900s as self help organizations which created an atmosphere of united tzedakah (charity) that has permeated the entire community. Many of these societies are very active in the Federation."

Like Jewish Federations in the United States, Toronto had to contend with the religious pluralism issue that threatened to lesson support for Israel among Jews. 

"The difference between our community and other North American communities is that there is far less assimilation here," English said. "The degree of attachment to Jewish tradition and the Jewish way of life in Toronto is actually higher than other North American communities, particularly on the West Coast. 

"That doesn't mean that we don't have a vocal Reform community which exercises its opinions about what is going on in Israel," he added. "But we worked very hard during the height of the conversion crisis to create inclusiveness and to make sure that the Reform particularly and the Conservative members weren't isolated. We set up a special pluralistic advisory committee that looked at all these issues; we sent special letters to our Reform donors and to our Conservative donors; we passes a resolution opposing changes to the status quo in Israel and opposing the conversion legislation; we sent out countless letters. I think we did a really good job of keeping things in check here."

The work had its effect; last year's fundraising set a record, according to English.

The estimated 175,000 Jews of Greater Toronto raised $40.5 million for the UJA/ Federation campaign, ranking the city "in the top five in the world in fundraising in raw dollars and in per capita dollars in the top three.

	"If you look at Los Angeles, they are raising about $41.5 million, "English said, noting that Los Angeles had more than double the amount of Jewish population. "We are $1 million behind," he added. "This is an extremely generous community." English said Toronto splits the money between domestic needs and overseas
A billboard promoting the UJA campaign in Toronto

needs approximately on a 57-43 basis. But he added that money is not raised with reference to geography but rather on the basis of what UJA/ Federation of Toronto believes are the three greatest needs in the Jewish world. "We are running a borderless campaign," he said. "Our areas of priority are financial assistance to the vulnerable, strengthening Jewish identity and the rescue of Jews in danger."

Toronto extends from Lake Ontario north about 30 miles. In the main, Jews live along two long north-south streets and in the area between them known as the Jewish corridor. The streets are Yonge and Bathurst. 

A high percentage of the Jewish population resides in an area of Toronto known as North York, which until two years ago was a separate municipality. After consolidation of several cities in the metropolitan area, the Jewish mayor of North York -- Mel Lastman -- was elected as the first mayor of the mega-city.