The second Kiev Jewish Forum, organized by the first vice-president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Boris Lozhkin, took place between September 8 and 9. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Forum was held online with the assistance of The Jerusalem Post. The forum was attended by, among others, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Alternative Prime Minister of Israel and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, Minister of Health of Israel Yuli Edelstein, Minister of Diaspora Affairs of Israel Omer Yankelevich, Minister of Higher Education and Water Resources of Israel Zeev Elkin, EAJC President Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili, President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder, EAJC Board Chairman Aaron G. Frenkel, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, EAJC First Vice-President Emmanuil Grinshpun, EAJC Director General Dr. Haim Ben Yakov, director of the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center in Tel Aviv University Prof. Simha Goldin and others.
In his speech EAJC President M. Mirilashvili thanked Boris Lozhkin for the successfully organized event and noted the particular importance of philanthropic activities and rendering assistance to communities during the days of the pandemic.
“The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, despite the pandemic, maintains regular contacts with all communities. In these difficult days, our task is to support various urgent projects, and despite the pandemic, we are trying to provide this support.
The Forum brought together prominent philanthropists from all around the world. These are the people who try to donate as much as possible by themselves and call on others to participate in charitable activities”, noted Mikhail Mirilashvili.
EAJC Director General Dr. Haim Ben Yakov presented, at the Kiev Jewish Forum, a large-scale study carried out by the Institute for Euro-Asian Jewish Studies (IEAJS) operating under the EAJC: Jewish Identity in the Post-Soviet Countries – Parameters, Prospects and Challenges.
Based on the results of this study, a round table was held, where the results of the study were analyzed by the Chairman of the Academic Council of the IEAJS, professor of political science and sociology of modern Jewish communities at Ariel and Bar-Ilan Universities, Prof. Zeev Khanin.
“This year, the coronavirus pandemic has put all of us, and above all international Jewish organizations, facing serious challenges, and we, more than ever, need serious, thoughtful, profound solutions. Our Institute for Euro-Asian Jewish Studies deals with these issues in order to provide the leaders of international Jewish organizations with real solutions, as well as the analysis of the current situations in the Jewish world.
Among our most important conclusions, I would like to emphasize the following today: Jewish communities are the main instrument for preservation and development of the Jewish life in the post-Soviet countries.
The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress intends to further support and develop the Jewish life of the Euro-Asian region, to protect the rights and legitimate interests of Jewish public organizations against government bodies and international organizations.
Based on the analysis of the collected data, we recommend the Jewish leaders and communities in the region to pay attention to the development of the online activities and the targeted programs for young and middle-aged people, who, unfortunately, have practically dropped out of focus of the Jewish organizations. We want to draw special attention to the importance of the Jewish education in shaping Jewish identity and attracting unreached, but interested in community life Jews and their families, that include Israeli citizens living outside the state”, said Haim Ben Yakov.
