OCTOBER 7 • 2021 | 27

international city, separated 
from Detroit by only a 
short bridge or tunnel ride. 
He hopes the Windsor 
Jewish community will 
expand its view as part of 
a larger Detroit-Windsor 
metropolitan area and forge 
stronger connections across 
the border.
“Together with the Jewish 
community of Hamilton, 
Ontario, we will be launching 
a new proactive marketing 
campaign in the next several 
months to attract both 
domestic transplants and new 
Jewish immigrants to relocate 
to our respective cities and 
Jewish communities. Our 
newcomer programs will 
include financial assistance 
and a range of support 
services,” Brotman explains. 
Along with government 
participation, he expects 
support from local donors in 
the Jewish community. 
Windsor Federation 
President Michael Malowitz 
says, “Brotman arrived in 
the middle of a pandemic 
and hit the ground running. 
Very quickly, he made 
high-level connections in 
the community with clear 
objectives set out to grow the 
declining Jewish population 
as well as update the 
workings of the JCC.
“Dan has contacted all 
levels of government to 
facilitate immigration to 
allow those with the needed 
skills to be able to move here. 
This pattern may be used by 
both the Jewish and non-
Jewish communities and our 
politicians will be watching 
us based on Dan’s efforts.”
Brotman anticipates interest 
in immigrating to Windsor 
from Jewish individuals in the 
greater Toronto area, South 

America and South Africa. At 
least one smaller city in the 
U.S. South has used a similar 
campaign to increase its Jewish 
community. In Metro Detroit, 
Young Israel of Southfield has 
actively encouraged families 
from other states to relocate 
to its community with some 
success.

WELL-TRAVELED
Brotman, born in Boston, 
lived in Israel for several 
years while attending 
Hebrew University but then 
returned to the U.S., where 
he graduated with a B.A. in 
international studies from the 
University of Oregon. 
 Soon afterward, he moved 
to South Africa, serving as 
head of media and public 
affairs for the Cape South 
African Jewish Board of 
Deputies — the political 
voice and human rights lobby 
of South African Jewry and 
the umbrella body for South 
African Jewish communal 
organizations. While serving 
in that position, Brotman 
pioneered a Black-Jewish 
Entrepreneurs network. 
Brotman then served as 
executive director of the 

South Africa-Israel Forum 
for several years, leaving 
to start En-novate, Ltd. — 
which he describes as “one of 
South Africa’s first corporate 
experiential education 
companies. We proudly took 
1,000+ African business 
leaders and entrepreneurs on 
one-week immersions to 10 
of the world’s most innovative 
countries. Through these 
experiences, our groups 
were connected to leading 
investors, startups, corporate 
innovation centers and 
government agencies.”
But political and economic 
conditions in South Africa 
began to deteriorate 
significantly.
“Corruption was institu-
tionalized. It moved from 
government to the private 
sector. People didn’t trust 
each other. There was a 
cultural shift,” Brotman says. 
When he saw the posted 
opening for the Windsor 
Federation, it was appealing 
for the professional challenge 
to help the community grow 
but also for its location. 
Windsor is convenient to 
Toronto, where Brotman’s 
partner has family members, 

and not that far from 
Knoxville, Tenn., where his 
parents live. Those distances 
don’t deter him as he loves to 
travel. So far, he has visited 
70 countries, most recently 
Lebanon and Morocco in 
recent weeks.
He views Canada as dealing 
with some of the same social 
and political issues as the 
U.S. There is a Canadian 
minority that opposes 
COVID vaccination. About 
one-quarter of the residents 
of Peretz House, Windsor’s 
Jewish senior residence, 
are not vaccinated, and 
vaccination is controversial 
among some Windsor 
Federation board members.
As in the U.S., there is 
increasing antisemitism. 
Brotman says that 
Windsor has a large Arabic 
population, many of 
whom are immigrants who 
oppose Israeli policies and 
are connected with Arab 
communities there. 
Brotman says that 
swastikas have been painted 
on Jewish-owned property. 
The government responded 
by hosting a seminar about 
antisemitism. 
Despite the limitations 
of COVID, Brotman is a 
happy Canadian “permanent 
resident.” He is a member 
of Windsor’s Congregation 
Shaar Hashomayim and lives 
close to downtown Windsor 
and the Detroit River. 
“I love living in a border 
city and experiencing the best 
both countries have to offer, 
such as universal healthcare, 
political stability and general 
civility in Windsor, and a 
large Jewish community, great 
shopping and a convenient 
airport in Detroit,” Brotman 
says. 

Dan Brotman in Iran with a member of Iran’s Jewish community

