Euroasian Jewish News

In mid-November, a reception was held in honor of Dr. Joseph Shevel, President of Galille College (Israel), in the United States

In mid-November, a reception was held in honor of Dr. Joseph Shevel, President of Galille College (Israel), in the United States Embassy in Yerevan. Rimma Varzhapetyan, head of the Jewish Community of Armenia (JCA), was invited to attend the reception.
Rimma Varzhapetyan took part in the EAJC General Council Assembly, held in Jerusalem (Nov. 16-19), where she told colleagues about the life and activity of Armenia’s Jewish Community. The EAJC’s activities in 2003 and the organization’s work plan for 2004 were discussed during the sessions. The JCA leader suggested including three projects in the operating plan of the Congress:
- A monument planned for the center of Yerevan to honor Armenia’s Jewish heritage and Holocaust victims;
- A Jewish museum project in Ehegis village, on the site of archeological excavations dating back to the XI-XIII Centuries);
- A summer camp project to teach children tolerance.
Varzhiapetyan took part in a seminar called “Religious Problems of National Minorities in Armenia,” organized and carried out by the Center for Strategic and National Research. In a speech, she noted that there is little discrimination toward national minorities in Armenia. Nevertheless, some problems do exist. For example, in 1926 two synagogues in Yerevan were destroyed.
Today, Armenia’s Jewish Community rents two small rooms for the purpose of holding Jewish Sunday school, ulpan, clubs and lectures. The community would like for the government to give it a premises for a community center.