The 8th annual and first Ride to Remember to be held outside the United States will be held from May 31st through June 3rd in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The R2R is the JMA’s signature event with a twofold mission: to honour and remember those that were murdered in the Holocaust and to raise funds for Holocaust Education.

We want to fund a Holocaust Educational program that would on the one hand support the fundraising goals of the JMA and on the other capture the imagination of potential donors. We have attempted to meet these challenges as follows.

The 2012 R2R fundraising initiative will be The Holocaust Educator’s Tour -a program created by the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre which in turn is a unit of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. The Educator’s Tour takes gentile teachers to the locus of the Holocaust where they learn firsthand from docents and survivors about the Holocaust at the sites where it was conceived and executed. The educators in turn return to Canada to teach their students about the Holocaust based on what they’ve learned and witnessed on the European tour. The program has taken place in 2005, 2008, and 2010. The program is not run on an annual basis but only when specific funding is obtained for the Tour. The 2012 R2R hopes to raise sufficient funds to sponsor a tour within the next year or two. In fact, we hope that the scale of the 2012 R2R will raise funding to sponsor more than one Holocaust Educators Study Tour.

The R2R will be preceded by the JMA sponsored and YOW organized Never Again pledge on Parliament Hill in the nation’s capitol, Ottawa. The year 2012 starts with a government and Prime Minister in power that is arguably the most pro-Israel government in the world. Thus the 2012 OC is of the opinion that Parliament Hill is an appropriate venue to plan a massive rally to show Israel and the Jewish Diaspora that we do not stand alone and many people, Jews and Christians alike, support the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

On May 31st Jewish riders from the JMA, Christian riders from the Mission M25 Ministry of Hope and the Heroes Highway Riders will come together and stand shoulder to shoulder along with representatives from the Canadian Government and Jewish and Christian clergy to pledge to the world Never Again. We expect 100’s perhaps 1000’s of Jewish and non-Jewish attendees, riders and non riders to witness this first time ever event. We expect media coverage to be substantial. We have received word that news of the Ottawa pledge is spreading throughout Israel -before we had gone public!

After the ceremonies in Ottawa all riders are invited to ride to Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, ON. CFB Trenton is on the way to Toronto - about a 2 hour ride from the host hotel. There will be a ceremony at CFB Trenton honouring Canadian and US soldiers and particularly those who have given their lives for their countries. There will be a flyover to acknowledge our presence. JMA riders will return to Markham, ON to enjoy a patio BBQ at the host hotel.

The next day, June 1st, we’ll meet at the Shaar Shalom Synagogue for breakfast then depart for a scenic police escorted ride through Toronto which will terminate at the iconic art deco Holy Blossom Temple where we’ll have lunch and a brief presentation. After services on Friday evening, the Shabbat dinner will be held in the hotel’s ballroom. There will be 2 speakers that will discuss the challenges facing the Jewish people and the State of Israel in these increasingly dangerous times.

There will be services at the hotel on Saturday conducted by Rabbis Lazar and Rodel. Those who don’t attend services have three rides to choose from. The 2012 R2R will conclude with a farewell dinner at the Israeli themed restaurant Hava Nagila.
Registration and more information: ride2remember.org

Hello JMAers,

I thought I’d bring you up-to-date on some of the JMA’s recent activities. Since I took over as acting President, it’s been an interesting time. There were issues with a club’s membership and issues with R2R participation. Thankfully, and as you all know, with the Executive Boards guidance, this is all behind us and we can move on to a great R2R and another club joining our ranks.

From what I’ve been told and seen published, the upcoming Ride to Remember looks like it’s going to be an exciting time. Hundreds of motorcyclists are going to be there. If you don’t have a passport and want to be there, get it now.

For the first time, there is online registration, making the process easier and very efficient. Thanks to the technocrats in the YOWs, we have a model to follow for future R2Rs. It’s taking time – sometimes longer than anyone one of us would like – but we are getting better at what we do, and it’s you, the membership that will make it happen.

Although my time in office may be short, I want the JMA to be a value to all our clubs and their members, and to set in motion the process for continuous introspection going forward.

If anyone has any suggestions for what we can do better – and not just limited to the R2R – about our operations in general, please contact me at cjride@gmail.com.
(Don’t respond through the forum. When sufficient information has been collected, it will be presented for a general discussion.)

Jay Rubin
Acting President, JMA