Publication of secret diplomatic documents about Soviet-Israeli relations

The selection and publication of secret diplomatic documents about Soviet-Israeli relations is a special project being implemented between Russia and Israel with the support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

The collection of documents from the period from 1945 to 1967 is planned to be published in 2021. This will be the second part of the collection; the first was published in 2000 and covered documents from the period from 1941 to 1953. The second collection will be the largest compilation of documents of bilateral relations, it will include more than 700 encrypted telegrams.

The leader of the reactionary group on the part of Israel is a researcher at Tel Aviv University, Boris Morozov. According to him, for the first time the Russian Foreign Ministry has declassified more than 800 cipher telegrams, and the Israeli side has declassified the documents of the Nativ and Bar commissions.

The project will publish documents related to the Suez crisis, the Six-Day War, the Israeli struggle for the repatriation of Jews from the USSR, the creation of a mass movement in the West on this issue.

According to the project participants, the period from 45 to 67th was extremely painful for both parties and the publication of these documents leads to the strengthening of cooperation between countries in all areas.

Supporting “Hillel” Russia

Hillel Russia – part of the world’s largest Jewish student organization that introduces young people to the history, traditions, values and culture of the Jewish people.

Hillel Russia was formed in 1994 with the mission of strengthening Jewish identity among young people and encouraging them to actively participate in the life of the global Jewish community. The focus of Hillel’s cultural activity – informal study of Jewish history and traditions, introduction to Israel and participation in leadership and volunteer programs.

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress supports various Hillel Russia projects, including:

• Madrichim School – an intensive three-month training course for madrichs in non-formal Jewish education. The school of madrichim educates leaders who are well-versed in matters of Jewish culture and history, able to organize, captivate and pass their knowledge onto others.

• Young Jewish Leaders: Student Leadership and Self-Government – a program that develops and supports a new generation of leaders in the Jewish communities of Russia. Participants implement their projects over the course of six months, after which the best project managers undergo special trainings at Hillel and participate in Moscow shabbatons. The program contributes to the enrichment of Jewish life in Russia and the awakening of Jewish identity among its participants.

• Online Course: Leading Shabbat – preparatory crash course for Shabbat leaders to learn about the culture of Shabbat in webinar format with the help of rabbis, cultural scientists and Jewish leaders. The two best participants, based on test results, will be rewarded with a trip to a Hillel of another city with the possibility of leading a Shabbat for local youth.

• Student initiatives, including tsevet and volunteering:

— Tsevet supports and gives new knowledge to active students of Hillel – madrichs or project coordinators.

— Volunteering – support program targeting volunteer initiatives. The project aims to support and develop the motivation of community activists in Russia.

• Professional Training – four-day conference for all Hillel Russia staff to increase knowledge in areas of work, exchange of experience and professional development.

• Jewish Holidays – student celebrations of the main Jewish holidays: Purim, Pesach, Rocha ha-Shanu, Hanukkah, etc. Each time the program includes something new: parties, picnics, seminars and lectures.

Supporting Hillel Case

The main task of “Hillel CASE – education of the new generations of educated and enlightened Jews who are proud of their heritage, the involvement of Jewish youth in the process of the revival of Jewish life and raise a new generation of Jewish leaders, the study of Jewish history, religion, traditions and culture, the formation of Jewish identity of young Jews , the implementation of programs aimed at promoting the spiritual development of young people in education and culture.

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress actively supports the activities of the organization and assists in the implementation of the following projects:

HAP (Hillel Art Project)

The project is conceived as a platform for professional, creative development in the company of like-minded and new friends from different cities. Under one roof collected participants from different cities of the region, led by star to teachers, the real masters of their craft to comprehend the secrets of creative professions. Every year, 30-40 participants gather in Kiev, where they painted and photographed, removed, and write, produce advertising and installation. In a word – create.

HAP- is a four-day workshop consisting of lectures, workshops and creative studios. This is a great opportunity to socialize and make new friends in gilelevskoy family

The project involves the introduction of actively produced during the workshop skills and knowledge into practice “Hillel” in the field, as well as creating the actual product operations for the 4 days of the seminar, applicable in further Hilel’s life.

HAP includes the four artistic direction:

– Video: try for yourself and learn all the nuances of shooting (script, directing, shooting, editing) within the format “48 hours”?

– Theater. Participation in staging theatrical process, acting work, in parallel with the obtaining of relevant knowledge (rhetoric, stage speech, acting)

– Media. Getting knowledge and practical skills of modern media technologies. Blogging and vlogs, the subtleties of creating content for the social. networks

– Art. A study of trends in contemporary art, as well as the creation of installations, the creation of individual creative products.

Intellectual wars

The international tournament on the popular smart games. Intelligent War Hillel – a unique educational project, born in Odessa in 2007. The International tournament on intellectual games involving teams “Hillel» CASE region, Odessa Jewish organizations and teams from other cities and countries. Since 2013 the festival has received the status “International”. For teams from Belarus, Moldova and Russia were joined by representatives of Israel. In 2018, for the first time in history, USA representatives joined.

Summer Forum

Every year in late August, “Hilel” gathers more than 150 new kids on the Black Sea, to, acquaint them with programs and projects that inspire “Hillel”. Top madrichim trained in gilelevskoy “School madrichim” prepared for the participants of a unique thematic program, which will never be repeated. Five days of educational and entertainment programs, intellectual battles, interesting meetings, new friends, good mood and positive sea, contribute to the fact that most children become regular participants of our programs, and eventually many of them can be seen among the activists and leaders of the “Hillel” of their cities.

The center of the Jewish community “Beit Rambam”

Shtetl Anatevka is described in the play “Tevye the Milkman” by Shalom Aleichem. In the old Jewish cemetery near the village is located the oel of the great tzaddik Rabbi Mordechai from Chernobyl, who foresaw the Chernobyl disaster almost 200 years before its implementation. In the early twentieth century the shtetl gradually came to desolation. On the initiative of the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe-Reuven Asman, in 2015, the revival of the Jewish town began in the same place. To date, the hostel, a synagogue, a cheder, a training and educational complex “Mitsvat Moshe”, a kindergarten “Gan Zelda”, two apartment buildings are functioning in Anatevka. In the process of construction – a separate header building, the third apartment building, a multi-profile rehabilitation center, a Jewish museum.

The revival of Anatevka was a response to the needs of low-income Jews of Ukraine in a comfortable and safe environment for the conduct of the Jewish way of life. The concept of the Beit Rambam center implies social, psychological, physical, spiritual rehabilitation for those who find themselves in a difficult life situation, as well as for elderly members of the community.

Particular attention “Beit Rambam” refers to members of the community of golden age. On the basis of the center, it is planned to create a full-day club for the elderly, where they could spend leisure time in the Jewish environment, engage in self-education, improve health, and receive full-fledged kosher food.

Jewish Culture and Education in Georgia

The purpose of the project: To increase the level of Jewish self-awareness of the younger generation, to introduce young people to the Jewish tradition and to help them learn the Jewish sources, the succession of generations and the expansion of the program participants’ program; the renewal of shortened programs; the study of Hebrew and traditions; the study of the history and culture of Jewish communities in the Euro-Asian region.

The project is implemented jointly with the Jewish Cultural and Educational Foundation (JCC)

Support of educational project “Taglit”

Taglit-Birthright Israel connects young Jews to the State of Israel as well as to their Jewish identity through a free ten-day educational tour of the country. Over the past 18 years, Taglit-Birthright Israel has opened the eyes of hundreds of thousands of trips participants to the people and the land of Israel. The trip aims to build an understanding, friendship, and lasting bond with the land and people of Israel and to reinforce the solidarity of the Jewish people worldwide.

Taglit-Birthright Israel is considered the most successful and largest Zionist project in the Jewish world. Taglit-Birthright Israel has a unique, historical and innovative partnership between the Government of Israel, thousands of individual donors and private philanthropists, and Jewish communities around the world.

Since its inception in 1999, over 600,000 Jews from over 66 countries have participated in the free 10-day educational tour of Israel. Of these over 90,000 young Israeli soldiers (from prestigious units of the IDF) and students have joined various groups on their tours.

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress announced the support of the Taglit project in 2018. Thanks to this decision, hundreds of Jewish boys and girls from these communities will have the opportunity to visit Israel free of charge as part of the educational visit. Many of them will have the opportunity to visit Israel for the first time. Cooperation between the EAJC and the Taglit organization will significantly increase the number of participants from Eastern Europe and Asia already this year.

Mikhael Mirilashvili, president of The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, said: “As the President of The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, I am glad for the opportunity to take part in this important event, bringing together the State of Israel and young Jews from the diaspora. Birthright Israel’s participants get a special glimpse into our historic homeland, its rich past and promising future. Whether this trip remains a brief experimentation or becomes a meaningful part of their being and identity– is up for each participant to determine on his own. What matters is that every Jew, wherever he may be, will have a place reserved in his heart for Israel and for his connection with his people. Our vast heritage and unique culture are the shared basis we can build our individual and collective future on”.

“Rod`n`ya“ Project – family history research

“Rod`n`ya“ Project was carried out through the cooperation of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Hillel International and Genesis Philanthropy Group.

“Rod`n`ya“ Project is a leadership educational program that enables young Jewish leaders to get acquainted with their family history and contribute to the development and strengthening of community life.

For several months the project participants were exploring their roots, the history of their families and communities. They were studying the Jewish history and tradition, visiting archives and looking through the family albums.

For a detailed study of a family history, 45 Jewish students from Russia, Ukraine and Israel visited Poland and the Czech Republic. The participants made a real expedition, visited places where before the Second World War numerous Jewish communities lived and flourished. In the framework of the project, students also strengthened their leadership skills, gained new tools for project management, and also collected material for further planning and implementation of their own projects, in order to keep the memory of both their families in particular and Jewish people as a whole.

Publication of the book “The popular history of Bukharian Jews”

“Popular History of Bukharian Jews” was recently published, with a support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. The authors, Ilya Dvorkin and Markel Fazylov, have covered a rich history of Bukharian Jews for almost 2600 years:  from the Persian Empire period (6th century B.C.) through the Bukhara Khanate foundation (16th century) to Russian Empire (19-20th centuries), including the Soviet period.

The purpose of the book is to present the history of Bukharian Jews in a comprehensible and lively manner. The book refers to little-known pages of history. Of particular interest is investigation of Jewish communities in the Central Asia settlements. Through thoughts and memories of particular people, the reader can see the changes in the authorities’ policy towards the Jews, and the effect it had on their legal and economic state. Important to note, the history of Bukharian Jews is shown in a book not only on the basis of statistics and archival documents.

Along with the opinions of scientists and travelers, the book contains reasonings and judgments of the Bukharian Jews themselves, which is extremely important for a deep understanding of nation’s culture and ethnography.

The book of Daniel Gordis “Israel: the history of the state”

With the support of the EAJC, the book of Daniel Gordis “Israel: the history of the state” was published. “Israel: the history of the state” is a story about a small state and an ancient idea, thanks to which it arose. This is the history of the country, its existence has repeatedly refuted the theory of probability and is still forced to confront dangerous enemies and overcome numerous difficulties. This is a story about the people who have reborn, paying for it the highest price. The history of Israel is complex, it has both dramatic and tragic moments. This is a wonderful, exciting story, affecting our life literally at every step.

Memorial Candle Monument

The monument will be erected in Jerusalem in memory of the participants in World War II and the siege of Leningrad. The project was initiated by the Committee for External Relations of the Government of St. Petersburg in cooperation with the Coordinating Council of Organizations of Russian-speaking Compatriots of Israel and its members, the Union of World War II Veterans and the Union of Leningrad Siegebreakers in Israel. The monument is created with the funding and support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

The site of the monument was chosen: promenade in the area of ​​Armon HaNaziv, from where it opens a unique panoramic view of the Old City of Jerusalem, one of the most beautiful observation sites in Jerusalem, south of the Old City. Numerous tourists from all over the world who want to touch the unique atmosphere of the city come here. In the translation from Hebrew Armon HaNatsiv means “the palace of the governor”. In the 30s of the last century, the English, who ruled then in Israel, built here a central residence for the British governor. Today (after 1948), the headquarters of UN observers is located here.