Jewish Museum of Canada
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The Jewish Museum of Canada was a proposed museum to be built in Toronto, Ontario, Canada by a partnership of the family of Rosalie and Isadore Sharp, founder of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto.[1] The Sharp family has pledged $20 million towards the project, towards a total fundraising goal of $150 million.[2] The museum is to feature three themed galleries with artifact and multimedia-based interactives and three immersive environments entitled: Jewish Experience, Jewish Life in Canada and The Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre.[3]
The proposal, which was announced in September 2014, has been indefinitely shelved due to the United Jewish Appeal prioritizing other fundraising projects while the University of Toronto, which had been a partner in the project, wished to proceed immediately with developing the cultural centre that the museum was to be a part. Isadore Sharp, who initiated the project, said in January 2016 that: "This was a wonderful opportunity that the university was offering to us. They have a project that they are moving forward with, and they certainly wanted [the museum] to be part of it, but we had a timeline to work on it, and it just wasn’t feasible with the commitments that had already been made by federation." Sharp added that: "At this stage, it’s all being put on hold and it is up to the federation sometime in the future if they wish to proceed with it".[4]
Steve Shulman, campaign director of the UJA federation, told the Canadian Jewish News that: "the university wanted to move ahead in a very short period of time, which was particularly challenging, and I think from UJA’s standpoint, we are in a situation where we also have particular priorities in terms of the vulnerable in our community, Jewish education, identity, Jewish advocacy connection with Israel, etc., in our capital campaign."[4]