On December 15-16, the 3rd Kyiv Jewish Forum, organized by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine in cooperation with the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), the Center for Jewish Impact and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, was held.

This year, the KJF was devoted to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Ukraine. The first day of the forum was attended by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Israel Yitzhak Herzog, President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder, President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Mivchael Mirilashvili, President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Boris Lozhkin, ambassadors of states, politicians, public figures, philanthropists and others guests of honor.

The second day of the forum was attended by the Minister of Construction of Israel Zeev Elkin, Minister of Diaspora Affairs of Israel Nachman Shai, Minister of Aliyah and Integration Pnina Tamano-Shete, Minister of Tourism of Israel Yoel Razvozov and other political and public figures.

Address of the EAJC President Michael Mirilavshili to the organizers and participants of the Kiev Jewish Forum:

“Dear friends.

I am glad to welcome the organizers and participants of the third Kiev Jewish Forum. First of all, I would like to thank our dear partner and friend, First Vice-President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Boris Lozhkin for this important initiative. Over the years, the Kiev Jewish Forum has become a major event in the Jewish world and we are happy to take part in it.

This year the Forum is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between independent Ukraine and the State of Israel. A new chapter began for our states 30 years ago. However, relations between our peoples have been developing for centuries. The history of the Jewish people on Ukrainian soil goes back a long time, and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress is making great efforts to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of Ukrainian Jewry. We also pay great attention to the development of Jewish communities and provide support to social and educational projects in Ukraine. We sincerely hope for the further development of good relations between our countries and between our peoples.

In recent years, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress has acted as a partner in a number of important initiatives of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, headed by Boris Lozhkin.

Recently, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, we published the book Righteous Among the Nations. Ukraine” about the Ukrainian citizens who saved Jews during the Holocaust.

As part of the ‘Jewish Library’ project, the bestsellers on the history of the Jewish state and biographies of its leaders are being published in Ukrainian language.

Another significant joint project is the creation of the Institute for the Ukrainian Jewry Research Institute at Tel Aviv University, whose mission is to study the history and culture of Jews on territory of Ukraine from the Middle Ages to the present day.

We are glad to continue to cooperate with the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine for the benefit of one of the largest Jewish communities in the post-Soviet space and are grateful to Boris Lozhkin for his great contribution to the present and future of Ukrainian Jewry.

I wish all the forum participants successful and fruitful work. We are doing an important job and with God’s help we will succeed!”

On December 8, the President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Dr. Michael Mirilashvili and the EAJC General Director Dr. Haim Ben Yaakov held a meeting with the Chairman of the Board of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Complex Dani Dayan. During the meeting, the parties outlined plans for the future and discussed a number of important areas of joint work, including the issue of study and preservation of the memory of the Holocaust and World War II.

Dani Dayan was appointed Chairman of the Board of Yad Vashem by the Israeli Government in August 2021. He previously served as Israel’s Consul General in New York. Prior to joining the US diplomatic service, Dayan was a member of the Yad Vashem public council.

As the leaders of the EAJC noted during the meeting, the Congress pays special attention to studying the Holocaust and supporting former prisoners of ghettos and concentration camps, preserving memory and combating Holocaust denial. The EAJC is active in public diplomacy, encouraging state leaders to formulate a clear and consistent policy of preserving historical memory.

Leaders of the EAJC and Yad Vashem also discussed educational and cultural projects of the EAJC, launched in close cooperation between the two organizations in recent years.

One of them is the The Moshe Mirilashvili Center for Research on the Holocaust in the Soviet Union at the Yad Vashem memorial complex, which began its work in May 2016. The Center aims to initiate and promote innovative research in the Jewish history during the Second World War in the territories that were part of the USSR at the time of the Nazi Germany invasion on June 22, 1941.

At the meeting, a book by one of the Center’s researchers, historian Aaron Schneier, “Captivity”, was presented. The book tells about the fate of Soviet prisoners of war and examines the issue of service and the role of Jews in the Red Army before, during and after WWII. Separate chapters of the book talk about anti-Semitism and its causes in the pre-war years, as well as during the war in the rear and at the front.

The promotion of the Holocaust history in culture was discussed as well. One of the projects designed to fulfill this task is the movie “Sobibor”, the international release of which was supported by the EAJC. The film is based on real events that took place during the Second World War in the Sobibor extermination camp in Poland.

Another project, supported by the EAJC, won and award at the Moscow Jewish Film Festival in October this year. The animated movie “263 Nights” was awarded in the category “Best Documentary Short Film”. It reveals the story of 26 people hiding from the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Minsk in a dug basement for 263 days.

The EAJC pays considerable attention to educational projects about the Holocaust. These are online resources for perpetuating the memory of the victims of the besieged Leningrad (“Memory of the besieged Leningrad”) and a collection of educational materials about the history of the Holocaust (“SHOA”).

On the personal initiative of the EAJC President, Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili, EAJC has been providing support to a number of associations of veterans and invalids of the Second World War in Israel and on the territory of the former USSR.

The International Public Organization of Jewish Former Juvenile Prisoners of Ghettos and Nazi Concentration Camps has been a member of the EAJC for many years and is engaged in medical and socio-psychological support of former prisoners, as well as preserving and transmitting the living memory of the Holocaust to the younger generation.

Yad Vashem Board Chairman Dani Dayan supported the initiatives of the EAJC leaders and expressed readiness to continue active cooperation between the Yad Vashem memorial complex and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

On December 1, in the city of Lod, for the first time in the history of Israel, one of the city squares was named in honor of the Jewish Soviet general, Yakov Kreizer. The ceremony in Lod was attended by the Ambassador of Russia to Israel Anatoly Viktorov, Director General of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Dr. Chaim Ben Yaakov, Chairman of the Russian Jewish Congress Yuri Kaner, Board Member of the RJC Yuri Dombrovsky, Chairman of the Maalot Association David Shekhter, Mayor of Loda Yair Revivo, Deputy Mayor of Loda Elvira Kalikhman.

The square in the new district of Lod, where many immigrants from the former USSR live, have received the official name “Victory Square in memory of General Yakov Kreizer”. The project was initiated by the Ma’alot Association. The proposal to name the square after General Kreiser was addressed to the municipalities of Lod and Ashdod. In the near future, it is also planned to open a square in Ashdod.

The Ma’alot Association, which aims to create the Center for the Heritage of the Soviet Jews, conducts a wide range of activities aimed at deepening in Israeli society the understanding of the contribution of the USSR Jews to the creation and development of Israel. One of the projects aimed at this was the Ma’alot campaign to perpetuate in Israel the memory of the war hero, the “modern Maccabeus” General Jacob Kreiser. It was not by chance that Ma’alot chose Hanukkah for holding the Kreiser Week in Israel, during which numerous events dedicated to the general have already taken place and will take place. The project was supported by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, donors Yuri Dombrovsky, Yuri Zelvensky, Yakov Soskin and Arkady Mayofis.

“We must remember that the Jews in that war were not only victims, but also heroes: one and a half million Jews served in the armies of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, more than half a million in the Red Army, tens of thousands fought in partisan detachments, hundreds of thousands died in battles. 305 The generals and admirals of the Red Army were Jews. Today we are actively talking about this, thereby restoring justice and preserving the historical truth, ” – commented EAJC President Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili.

Yaakov Kreizer (1905-1969) became the first commander of the Red Army to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. For 12 days, his division held back Guderian’s tanks on the Berezina, which saved Moscow and allowed tens of thousands of Jews to evacuate and avoid imminent death. In 1953, Kreiser was one of the few prominent Jews who refused to sign a letter urging Stalin to expel Soviet Jews to Siberia and the Far East.

The third annual Kyiv Jewish Forum is scheduled to take place on Dec. 15-16, featuring senior leaders from Ukraine, Israel, Europe and the United States.

The two-day virtual forum will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of official diplomatic relations between Israel and Ukraine. It is being co-hosted by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, the Center for Jewish Impact and the Combat Antisemitism Movement, according to a statement by the event organizers. The forum’s partner is traditionally the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

Participants will include Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, Housing and Construction Minister Ze’ev Elkin, Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov, EAJC President Michael Mirilashvili and ambassadors, politicians, public figures, philanthropists and others.

Among the topics to be discussed are relations between Ukraine, Israel and the global Jewish community, rising antisemitism and the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to the statement.

Last year, 83,000 people participated in the online Forum, including 500 leaders from Ukraine, Israel, the United States and Europe.

Registration for the forum and additional information is available on the forum page.

‘Yad Sarah Frenkel’ Emergency Medicine Center won the annual ‘Leading Health Initiative’, hosted by Yediot Aharonot (ידיעות אחרונות), Ynet and Reboot Forum, for Leading Nonprofit Initiative and Public Health Contribution in Israel.

The ‘Yad Sara Frenkel’ Medical Center was established in Israel in 2017 with the support of businessman and philanthropist Aaron G. Frenkel, Chairman of the board of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. The center serves as an additional point of emergency medical care and helps to offload the emergency rooms of hospitals, providing similar care to a number of patients.

“There was no doubt about the crucial importance of well-coordinated medicine in any country before, but we all became especially convinced of this over the past two years, when the world was overtaken by a terrible health crisis. In such difficult moments public initiatives should come to the aid of the state system and we are responsible for the common cause of preserving life and health in the State of Israel. I am glad that our successfully operating center is fulfilling its mission and I am grateful to the organizers of the competition for their acclaim,” said Aaron G. Frenkel.

Last year EAJC Chairman of the Board Aaron G. Frenkel played an important role in overcoming Israel’s pandemic crisis by providing five cargo planes filled with medical equipment, as well as donating 14 million shekels to fight COVID-19.

On the photo: Special Negotiator Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat speaking during 2018 negotiations with the German government. Photo: Jason Colston (Claims Conference)

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), announced that, in an important achievement for survivors, first-time pensions have been allotted for Holocaust survivors who survived the Leningrad Siege as well as survivors who were in hiding in France and those who survived persecution in Romania, who are not currently receiving Shoah related pensions.

Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference said, “Every year these negotiations become more and more critical, as this last generation of survivors age, their needs increase. We are thrilled to be able to expand the criteria for survivors again this year, including the first-time pensions for nearly 6,500 survivors. Even 75 years after the Holocaust, these symbolic payments provide recognition and restore a piece of the dignity taken from survivors in their youth.”

The newly negotiated region-specific pension program is open and currently receiving applications. Payments will be €375 ($443) per month.

“We welcome this decision and express our gratitude for the work carried out by our colleagues at the Claims Conference. Caring for survivors of the Holocaust and the most difficult events of World War II is an important part of the work of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. We support several organizations uniting World War II veterans living in Israel, including the Union of the Siege of Leningrad in Israel, and this is certainly great news for those who went through those terrible events and need support, “said the EAJC General Director and member of the Board of Directors of Claims Conference Dr. Haim Ben Yakov.

Earlier the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress supported the initiative of the Council of Veterans of the Second World War and the Union of the Siege of Leningrad in Israel to establish a monument dedicated to the heroes and victims of the Leningrad Siege in Jerusalem. The Candle of Remembrance Monument was unveiled on January 23, 2020 with the participation of senior officials from Israel and Russia.

150 thousand Jews shared the fate of the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad, many went to the front, about 70 thousand died. Today in Israel there are more than 1,300 Leningrad Siege survivors. At the opening ceremony of the monument, EAJC President Michael Mirilashvili, together with the head of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center Viktor Vekselberg, announced the start of a special program aimed at preserving historical memory and deepening mutual understanding between peoples.

Under the program, the book “Pages of the Siege Memories”, composed of the memories of people who survived the siege of Leningrad in childhood was translated into Hebrew and distributed to universities, schools and libraries in Israel. The book was also presented to 30 Knesset members.

On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy, with the support of the EAJC, the book “Righteous Among the Nations. Ukraine”about the Ukrainians who saved Jews during the Holocaust was published. As part of the events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy, the book was presented to the President of the State of Israel, Yitzhak Herzog.

The book “Righteous among the Nations of the World. Ukraine ”contains about 2700 names of Ukrainians who saved Jews during the Holocaust. This is a complete list of Ukrainians officially recognized today by the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Complex Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. This title on behalf of the State of Israel has been awarded by a special commission since 1963 to non-Jews who helped Jews during the Holocaust. Today, about 27,000 people have already been recognized as Righteous in the world. Ukraine ranks 4th in terms of the number of the Righteous.

All the names of the Righteous Ukrainians in the book are grouped by region, the book contains stories of the salvation and photos of the Righteous themselves.

The book was initiated by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and published by the publishing house “Our Format” with the support of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Complex, the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. PDF-version of the book is available.

“There are about 2,700 names of the Righteous Ukrainians in the book, who have been officially recognized as such to date by Yad Vashem. In addition to the complete list of the Righteous for each region of Ukraine, we have also given individual stories of the salvation of Jews and published photos of the Righteous themselves,” – said the first vice-president of the EAJC, President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, Boris Lozhkin.

“During the terrible years of World War II, there were people who could not remain indifferent to the tragedy of the Jewish people. And, thankfully, there were a lot of them. More than two and a half thousand righteous people are officially recognized in Ukraine. We must remember this and pay tribute to each of them. Therefore, it was especially important for us and our colleagues from the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine to publish this book, which we have the honor to present today,” – said EAJC President Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili.