One of the reasons why most other nations don’t understand us is the fact that our national character is multi-faceted. They always see only one side, one facet and think that this is all there is. They are stunned, disappointed or at least just surprized to discover that our character also contains other sides. Nevertheless, there are two main powers that influence us and are of major importance for understanding the essence of our nature. One most clearly expressed power is our amazing ability to change, adapt, and become similar to the people amongst whom we live.

I would say that to a certain extent, it includes the purely external, biological side of our appearance. We can track it down even on the members of the same family. Many of us have relatives in different parts of the world. When all cousins gather for a family celebration – what do we see? Cousin Michael looks like a typical American, cousin Alex is a typical Israeli, and cousin Sophie and her kids are typical Belorussians. How come their parents could be brothers and sisters?

But this is not the most significant aspect of the matter. The true ability to adapt manifests itself on a much deeper level, and it is connected to our capacity to absorb the culture that surrounds us. To understand it better, let us address a phenomenon, which is commonly called ‘levantism’. A person of a Levantine type can also quickly and easily change, grasp new languages, adopt the manner of dressing and behavior. However, it is only an external imitation and mimicry, which doesn’t involve the essence.

Our adaptation happens on a completely different level, which involves internal transformation. We are not just ‘apeing’ others, but become an integral part of another nation. Moreover, after some time, sometimes a very short one, we manage to understand this nation better than it understands itself.

This phenomenon doesn’t necessarily mean that Jews are so much loved in the countries they are settled, or even become a part of the surrounding culture. Instead, it causes resentment and indignation.

Other people get the impression that the Jews not only enslave them economically but also ‘steal’ their souls. We become nationally recognized poets, playwrights, and artists of the other nations. We are more British than the British, more German than the German, more Russian than the Russian. There are multiple anecdotes about this, but in fact, we can be compared to an actor who doesn’t just play his role but transforms on the stage into a character he’s playing. If the actor is talented, the image he creates is somehow more realistic than the actual nature of the character, as the actor emphasizes the most typical details and the most striking individual traits. When the Jews try to play a role, they do it not as mediocre performers or miserable comedians, but as great tragic actors.

Imitating the other nations amongst whom they live, the Jews reflect the national type rather than its individual representatives. The question that arises is: how do we manage to do it? Massive pressure on us, initially a small and weak nation, has always meant the same: we need to either adapt or die. Those who couldn’t adjust – indeed perished. Those who had the talent to imitate the surrounders – survived. It is one of great aspects of our national “makeup”.

But here is another, not less important, side of us. There is an imperious call in our souls. It demands of us something opposite of adaptation and mimicry. This call is our desire for self-knowledge. In other words, there are some aspects of our ‘ego’ that we cannot get rid of, despite multiple attempts to do this throughout Jewish history. Sometimes after one, two or three generations assimilate, an ancient sprout breaks through as if there was no assimilation. It is exactly the feature that other people notice in the Jews since the beginning of our existence: we are the most stubborn nation in the world. We are a nation that cannot be brought to its knees. We can be torn into pieces, but those pieces, thanks to their inner power, will reunite again into a living whole.

It seems like an obvious contradiction. However, if we study this problem closer, we will see that these two characteristics of our nation are contradictory only externally. An ability to adapt per se would have meant that we should have had dissolved among other nations. Within a hundred years we would have disappeared having become like them. Those of us who really wanted it have become a part of other nations, if not themselves then at least in their offsprings. But only those have survived, not as individuals, but as a nation, who had an extra skill that gives a special meaning to our ability to adapt and change. This skill is to preserve memory and knowledge about something special that we carry within us, and about the fact that Jews are different from other nations. We are more flexible, more adaptable than others, but at the same time, we are harder than steel. This is the real secret of being able to survive and preserve ourselves throughout two millennia.

But let us return to our “actor”. He is experienced, successful and has mastered his skill to its perfection. Sitting in his dressing room, he removes his makeup. What does he see in the mirror? He’s been acting so well that he’s forgotten how he looks without it. A question emerges: “Who are you?” A Jew may find a satisfactory answer only by making a conscious effort to stop playing others’ roles. To attain this, we have to do everything possible to find out who we are on the inside, what image lives in our hearts, and how it should develop.

The EAJC leaders have expressed grave concern about the manifestations of neo-Nazi sentiments in Ukraine and called on the authorities to put an end to the illegal neo-Nazi movements in the country.

On July 29, the Kiev Prosecutor’s Office announced the detention of a 17-year-old hacker, who allegedly uploaded an image of the Nazi swastika into the computer system of the Gorodok Gallery shopping center.

Thus, a huge luminous symbol of hatred and anti-Semitism was broadcast on the central staircase of the shopping center filled with numerous buyers.

On the same day, it became known about the ceremony of commemoration and reburial of the remains of Nazi collaborators from the SS division “Galicia” in the Zolochiv district of the Lviv region.

The ceremony was attended by the guards of honor unite of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, members of the Reserve Division “Galicia” in the Nazi uniform, priests, representatives of government and public organizations. In his speech, a representative of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine called collaborators the heroes and saints who deserve canonization. In honor of the Nazi accomplices, a military salute sounded.

“Obviously, the Ukrainian authorities are more vigilant about the dangerous manifestations of neo-Nazism. But this is not enough. State and public organizations must take a tough stance in order to put an end to the neo-Nazi movements in the country.

All manifestations of neo-Nazi ideology should be prohibited and persecuted under the law in force on the dissemination of Nazi symbols and the popularization of Nazism. We urge the Ukrainian authorities to follow the letter of the law and pay special attention to educating children and adolescents in the spirit of tolerance and mutual respect,” said Director General of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Haim Ben-Yaakov.

“As a result of the recent elections, it became clear that radical and neo-Nazi groups and parties have no weight and influence in Ukraine. None of them were elected to parliament.

We are grateful to the EAJC for support in this matter and are convinced that the shameful manifestations of neo-Nazism in Ukraine will gradually fade away. We are ready to render any assistance to the new president of Ukraine in his struggle against nationalist sentiments in the country,” the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress joined the statement of the EAJC.

The Nesharim Jewish camp of the Jewish Community of the Republic of Moldova, which was held on July 2019 with the support of the EAJC, gathered more than a hundred children from all over the country.

During the ten-day sleepaway camp, the children learned a lot about Jewish history and got to know the bright historical characters, who visited daily and took part in the camp activities.

The Nesharim participants welcomed Shabbat together, listened to the fascinating stories about Moses and Joseph, the Exodus from Egyptian slavery, the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the dispersion of the people, about receiving the Torah and about 12 tribes of Israel.

Every day diverse thematic workshops were held in the camp: from business and rhetoric to dancing and making slimes. The kids showed excellent team qualities in sports competitions and intellectual games, and also enthusiastically discussed both Jewish and all-human challenges.

Special attention was paid to the history of the Jews in Moldova and discussion about the present and the future Jewish community of the country.

“The Jewish Community of the Republic of Moldova and the EAJC have united in a common effort to help children forming their Jewish identity. The annual camp “Nesharim” perfectly fulfills the task, attracting more and more children every year,” said EAJC President Mikhail Mirilashvili.

“The future of the Moldovan Jewish community is forming before our eyes, and we are happy to support the organizers of the long-term Nesharim program, who are optimistic about the Jewish future in the country,” said the director of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Haim Ben-Yaakov.