Institute for Euro-Asian Jewish Studies

The Institute for Euro-Asian Jewish Studies (IEAJS) is a project of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), established to serve as a think-tank and a platform for academic and professional collaboration among leading experts on Jewish communities in the CIS, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, as well as Western, Central, and East Asia.

The primary objective of the Institute is to conduct academic and applied research into the current state of Jewish communities in these regions. This research is situated within the context of the socio-political environment of their host countries, their relations with the State of Israel and regional powers, migration trends within local Jewish populations, as well as the history, culture, and socio-political heritage of these communities.

Communities and member organizations of the EAJC, along with Congress partners, are encouraged to assist in conducting studies, identifying contributors for publications, aiding in data collection, drafting proposals, commissioning projects (including co-financing), and organizing presentations of the Institute's findings.

In partnership with colleagues in the former Soviet Union, the Institute has initiated a large-scale sociological study titled "Jewish Communities in the Post-Soviet Space: Current Status and Trends of Dynamics." This study entails a survey of the Jewish population (under a broad definition) in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Moldova. It aims to gain a deeper understanding of the development of Jewish and other ethnic identities within these communities, and current trends in the formation of Jewish communities. Additionally, it will assess choices regarding integration into the Jewish collective by individuals of non-Jewish and mixed parentage, migration dynamics, the socio-economic status of various Jewish cohorts in these countries, and their attitudes toward Israel.

The Institute welcomes the cooperation of local communities in conducting this survey and will readily provide them with the research findings, which we anticipate will be of assistance in planning their operations.