Photo: Michael Garnett

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

On behalf of the EAJC leaders and, President of the Congress Dr. Michael Mirilashvili sent a letter to British Ambassador to Israel Mr. Neil Wigan:

“Dear Mr. Ambassador,

May I express on behalf of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress my deepest condolences on the passing of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.

Shortly after the Platinum Jubilee of Queen’s service it’s truly heartbreaking and very hard to comprehend.

The Queen lived a remarkable live, she represented the whole historical epoch, being at service at most vulnerable and exciting times. She truly was and forever will remain in our hearts and in the blessed memory as a role model and a symbol of great leadership, wisdom and modesty.

May I again express our condolences to you and all the British nation, United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms. We mourn together and pray for you at these difficult times”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit to Berlin on August 16 made several anti-Israeli statements. During the press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he refused to condemn refused to condemn a deadly attack by Palestinian militants on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, in which Palestinian militants killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. Instead, Abbas said that Israel “committed 50 holocausts against Palestinians over the years” and called the Jewish state an “apartheid state.”

This statement caused a storm of indignation among the Israeli Government and Jewish community leaders around the world. Thus, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid noted that the statement of Abbas “is not only a moral disgrace, but also a monstrous distortion of history.” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz called Abbas’ words “deceitful and disgusting.” “An attempt to equate the actions of the Nazis and their assistants, who sought to destroy the Jewish people, with the actions of the IDF, which protects the country’s citizens from cruel terror, is Holocaust denial,” he said.

Euro-Asian Jewish Congress strongly condemns the Palestinian leader’s statement and considers it absolutely unacceptable. Such views can have dangerous consequences and fuel antisemitism.

“Attempts to distort the memory of the terrible Holocaust tragedy are an absolutely unacceptable practice that has no place in the modern world. As we can see, people who make such statements act despite of objective facts and evidence, they are not interested in historical truth. They substitute reality based on their momentary political interests. Such manipulations are unacceptable, since their destructive side effect is the incitement of antisemitic sentiments in society,” said EAJC President Dr. Michael Mirilashvili.

President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Dr. Michael Mirilashvili congratulated Mrs. Droupadi Murmu, the President of India and Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India on Independence Day.

A greeting letter to the President reads the following:

“Relations between our states and nations are developing dynamically and getting stronger. We could admit a great confirmation of this process last month when you, Mr. Prime Minister, your Israeli colleague, US President and United Arab Emirates President agreed to work together on food security and clean energy, tech, and trade, among other issues. Particularly, we appreciate that India will take part in global efforts to reduce food waste and spoilage, conserve fresh water, and employ renewable energy sources. According to the experts opinion, our union is well-launched idea with real potential in terms of innovation, business and keeping a peaceful world order. Let these words be proved by our states in practice!”

The Taglit – Birthright Israel project, called to acquaint Jewish youth from all over the world with Israel, has crossed the line of 800,000 participants in 23 years of its existence, as stated by its leaders during the annual mega-event at Tel Aviv EXPO. 3,000 young participants, guests and sponsors from 13 countries took part in the event. For the first time since the two-year COVID-19 pandemic it was held offline. Major philanthropist Dr. Miriam Edelson and Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark addressed the audience during the event.

Taglit – Birthright Israel is a ten-day tour for youth with Jewish roots. The goal is to introduce participants to historical Israeli sights, its modern life, youth, students and soldiers, as well as to tell young Jews of the Diaspora about Jewish history and heritage, in order to form or develop their Jewish identity.

According to the Birthright Israel Foundation, participants from over 68 states are participating in the 10-day trip. Among them are the countries of the Euro-Asian region. The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress announced its sponsorship of the Taglit project in 2018. Thanks to this decision, hundreds of Jewish boys and girls from Euro-Asian communities were able to visit Israel as part of an educational trip. Many of them visited Israel for the first time.

“As the President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, I am glad that we are part of this unique project — the acquaintance of the Jews of the Diaspora with the State of Israel. Taglit participants have an exceptional opportunity to get to know our historical homeland in such a short time. Whether this trip will remain just an entertainment or become something bigger for them is a matter of choice. More important is that in the heart of every Jew, wherever he or she is, there will be a place for this country, for connection with Jewish nation. Often, our unique history and tradition are discovered by Taglit participants for the first time and become kind of a revelation for them – and this is exactly the foundation on which we can build our common Jewish future,” said EAJC President Dr. Michael Mirilashvili.

Photo: Erez Uzir/courtesy of Birthright Israel

EAJC leaders warmly welcome US President Joe Biden’s decision to visit Israel and sign the “Jerusalem Declaration on the US-Israel Strategic Partnership.” The document will definitely help build a solid foundation for cooperation between countries for years to come. With this agreement, the White House intends to prove its strict commitment to Israel’s security, strengthening its military potential to deter external threats.

We sincerely hope that the subsequent presidential visit to Saudi Arabia will continue the process of normalization in the region. The expansion of the “Abraham Accords”, which made it possible to strengthen the relations of a number of Arab states with Israel, no longer seems an unattainable goal. Just two years ago, the conclusion of a peace treaty brought to life what had seemed impossible for decades. Thus began a new chapter in the history of the Middle East. And today we are its active participants.

We also note that an essential part of the Israeli-American declaration of partnership will be an agreement on technological cooperation. In this area, Israel becomes the fourth state after Great Britain, Japan and Australia, with which the United States establishes such close ties. We welcome active diplomatic moves that strengthen US-Israel relations.

Photo: CSIS | Center for Strategic & International Studies

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress leaders pay sincere condolences to people and government of Japan on the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe (67). He was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister and led the government from 2012 to 2020. He was shot in the city of Nara while speaking at a rally ahead of parliamentary elections. Abe was the great friend of Israel. This unexpected and cynic murder shocked the whole Jewish Community all over the world.

“Mr. Abe brought the relations between our counties to a new level. He genuinely respected our people and country. We all remember his historical visit back in 2018 that opened the new page in relations between our countries. His distinguished legacy will stay with us despite this horrible murder.

Shinzo Abe will forever remain in our hearts and in the blessed memory as a huge leader and wise colleague. We pray together with Japan people in these dark times”, wrote the EAJC president Dr. Michael Mirilashvili in the address to the Japan ambassador to Israel.

Delegations from 21 countries sharply criticized the report of the UN commission on the consequences of “Guardian of the Walls” military operation (that took place in May 2021). Yesterday (June 13th) UN Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry on Israel provoked outraged reaction in the world. The organization’s special commission again accused the Jewish state of “occupying the territories” and concluded that this is the only cause of constant tension in the Middle East region. In response, 21 members of the Council (including US) expressed their outrage at the body’s “disproportionate treatment of Israel” and demanded to put the end to such practices.

The World Jewish Community has joined the discussion of the Council’s anti-Israel bias. Thus, World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder, thanked the United States and other countries for supporting Israel. “The latest attack on Israel from the UN Human Rights Council, a UN body that contains a standing agenda item against only one country in the world, must be condemned by all and retracted in full. A commission that claims to be addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but fails to mention Hamas in its founding resolution cannot be taken seriously,” he claimed.

Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) leaders have joined to him in strong condemnation of the conclusions of the UN Commission and called on world powers to make efforts to change counterbalance of the obviously anti-Israeli position of the UN Human Rights Council.

In response to that EAJC President Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili released the following statement:

“As president Lauder rightly pointed out, “the existence of the Commission of Inquiry on Israel itself speaks to the body’s biases and perpetuates a false narrative that distorts the facts and blindly ignores Palestinian terrorism that targets civilians. In our researches of the antisemitism level, conducted under the auspices of the EAJC, we have repeatedly noted the danger of the existence of a latent form of anti-Semitism, often expressed in the form of anti-Israeli sentiment.

From this point, the anti-Israeli narrative, built for a long time by the UN Human Rights Council, only adds fuel to the fire. For example, the experts of the special commission did not reflect in their report the reason why, as a result of the May 2021 escalation, dozens of new bomb shelters were built in southern Israel, including at the expense of public organizations such as EAJC. Why do Israeli farmers and their families need protection from rocket attacks? Hushing up some facts and exaggerating others, the experts of the UN special commission are engaged in the substitution of concepts. Such strategy chosen by international human rights body is unacceptable and dangerous.”

 

Photo: UN Photo / Elma Okic

The Museum of Judaica at Tel Aviv University (TAU) hosted the official opening of the exhibition ‘Wanderings of Hadibuk’, organized with the support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC). The exposition was prepared by the Judaica Museum in cooperation with the Israel Documentation Center for Performing Arts at TAU. It is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Hadibuk premiere on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater in Moscow. The full history of the legendary play: from premieres in the Soviet capital and foreign tours of the 20-30s to its incarnation on the modern Israeli stage – is presented at the exhibition.

As part of the opening ceremony, the curator of the exhibition, Dr. Olga Levitan, the artist of the exhibition, Dina Konson, and the playwright and theater historian, Dr. Boris Entin from the Gnazim Institute, spoke to the audience. The exhibition ‘Wanderings of Hadibuk’ is the final event in a series dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Hadibuk premiere, that were held in cooperation with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Haifa.

The exhibition was opened on the eve of the Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day. From perspective of the exhibition organizers, this coincidence emphasizes its symbolism. It is a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the Jewish culture of Eastern Europe, crossed out by the terrible events of the Holocaust. The author of the Hadibuk Semyon An-sky sought to preserve the heritage of this culture by fixing the unique materials obtained during ethnographic expeditions to Jewish places in the Pale of Settlement. His play eventually became a truly hallmark of the Jewish theater. Unique artifacts, sketches and scripts, costumes and photographs – all this can be seen at the exhibition.

It is available from Sunday to Thursday, opening hours: 8:00 – 14:00. The admission is free.

The theater-studio Habima was founded in Moscow in 1917 thanks to the fiery enthusiasm of the actor and director Nahum Tsemakh with the direct assistance of K.S. Stanislavsky. Habima was called the Bible Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre. The first artistic director of the theater, that performed in Hebrew, was Evgeny Vakhtangov.

Hadibuk became a flagship of the theater. The play, staged by Evgeny Vakhtangov in January 1922, only 4 months before his death, brought Habima world fame. Not knowing Hebrew, Vakhtangov managed to create a universal phantasmagoric language, which impressed the audience in Moscow, Europe and America.

Photo: Mirek Pruchnicki 

More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. More than 90% of them, reports UNICEF, are women and children. European countries have activated a Temporary Protection Directive for displaced persons from non-EU countries, which provides long-term residence, access to the labor market, medical services and social assistance. Among other countries, such rights were given to Ukrainian refugees in Austria, where they can obtain a humanitarian visa. According to officials, Austria has already hosted more than 200,000 people. It goes along with time private initiatives and volunteers, that also help refugees. One of those initiatives is the Coordination Volunteer Center which was opened by newly elected vice-president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) Matvei Hutman two weeks after the outbreak of war. According to volunteers, they have already helped several hundreds people.

“If you could see what I witnessed when I arrived in Ukraine in the first days of war, you just could not stay indifferent,”  this is how the EAJC vice president Matvei Hutman explains the reason why he is running volunteer initiative to help Ukrainian refugees in Austria. He was deeply impressed by the scene that he saw on the road to the Ukrainian-Polish border, where lots of cars stopped without gasoline and women had to warm the hands of their children with their breath.

Matvei Hutman is a successful Austrian businessman. He is a co-owner of the nation’s largest textile company ‘Palmers’ and runs real estate development firm ‘Valetono Development’. Hutman is an active public figure, especially in terms of fighting anti-Semitism. As Vice-President of the EAJC, he now promotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was created in cooperation with World Jewish Congress (WJC) experts.

However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine strategic Jewish issues became less urgent: “Yes, we are a Jewish organization, we certainly must take care of our communities. But we cannot differentiate people when it literally comes to saving their lives.”

Hutman’s initiative emerged quite spontaneously: he traveled to Austrian railway stations and airports with his employees, helping Ukrainians whose return flights were canceled. They rented apartments with their own funds. Then activists contacted local charitable foundations, starting to coordinate their work with volunteers. Soon the Austrian authorities got involved.

Austrian citizens responded to the call for help much more quickly, says Olga Skomarova, project coordinator in the Coordination Volunteer Center. She adds that sometimes refugees hosted by a local family no longer need Center help – the Austrians take care of the whole routine. “I was personally surprised how helpful they are,” says the activist. “Our acquaintances settled in a local family, which took all the issues under control. They studied with the child, found language courses for them, even tried to look for a job. They are very much involved.”

Skomarova explains that her Center coordinates work with volunteers from both Austria and Ukraine. Most often, they get in touch with them in messengers. Then volunteers explain to the refugees how to get to Austria and meet them upon arrival. They help them with bureaucracy, housing, groceries and necessary services – such as psychologists or social workers. In total, volunteers have already managed to accommodate about 200 Ukrainians.

One of them is Olga Polzikova (28) from Energodar. She came to Austria with her four-year-old sister. When the war began, she went to her relatives in Zaporizhzhia. Her town was not safe because of the nuclear power station. A few days later, she heard from friends about the Austrian initiative of the EAJC Vice President and decided to act. She was evacuated by train to the Polish border.

“The atmosphere there was not at all like in an ordinary train,” says the woman. “There were a lot of people. Usually there are 4 people in a coach compartment, and here there were 15 people in each one: mothers, small children, elderly. People changed places, stood in the aisles, someone laid on the floor in the corridor – the ride took a full day.

In Austria, volunteers helped Olga to find a small apartment and enrolled her sister to the kindergarten. The woman hopes to return to Ukraine in summer – her parents and relatives remained there. “Even when you get to Europe, you understand that there is nothing better than home. Everyone wants to be with their relatives, everyone feels sad, ” says Olga.

Matvei Hutman emphasizes the importance of helping not only refugees, but also Ukrainians who have remained in the country. Among the others, he points to the shortage of household chemicals: the factory owned by the entrepreneur was reequipped for its bottling – in order to avoid the costs and risks of transportation from Europe. “People just don’t even have the powder to wash their clothes,” explains EAJC VP.

No less important, Hutman sees assistance to Austrian charitable organizations with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, collected by local citizens. According to him, the number of volunteers in his Center depends on workload and counts up to 20 people at a time.

On the other hand, says Hutman, naturally, the longer the war lasts, the less attention Austrian society pays to it. He compares the situation to the security threats in Israel, where “people, unfortunately, are getting used to the terrible reality and learn to live with it.”

“People got used to this situation, and now collecting some free humanitarian aid is a somewhat pretty hard work. Now, if we ask someone to donate goods, then, at best, they can give us some discount,” explains the EAJC VP.

According to volunteers, the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees do not intend to stay in Europe for a long time, even though some of the Ukrainian cities were significantly destroyed. “We have several elderly women from Kharkov, they really want to return.” says Olga Skomarova. “But they know at the same time that they literally have nowhere to return. Their houses are destroyed. They say: “We will go anyway, we need to clean up and rebuild our city, so we will return.” Even though they are 70 years old.”

Dear friends!

Pesach is coming. A holiday that celebrates the events which shaped us as a people and started the process of returning to our land. A holiday that taught us what real freedom is.

In prayer we say “the time of our freedom.” When we think about it, out of context, it is obvious to us that freedom is better than slavery. But in reality distinguishing one from the other is not always easy. Three millennia ago, it seemed to many in our enslaved people that the stability of Egyptian slavery was better than the uncertainty of the Exodus. And only a firm belief in the Almighty encouraged us, in spite of everything, to strive for freedom and independence, to take risks and rely on our faith.

We have carried traditions through the millennia. Today we celebrate the same holiday that our ancient ancestors celebrated. We carried through the centuries an invincible desire for freedom as well. We know many ‘Exoduses’ in Jewish history. One of them led us in the last century to another return to our land and the foundation of a modern Jewish state that opened its gates to all Jews scattered around the world. Since then, every Jew, regardless of place of living, has regained their eternal home.

The Jewish people celebrated Pesach even in the most difficult historic times. This year, many Jews in our region will celebrate the holiday away from home. It is a difficult time, but today we celebrate the holiday of unity, holiday of faith in the future and firm confidence in the imminent freedom.

This Pesach, I want to wish every Jew to find their freedom. Kosher and Happy Holidays to you. Pesach Kasher veSameach!

Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, EAJC President