Euroasian Jewish News
EAJC Secretary General Michael Chlenov and EAJC President Vadim Shulman
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EAJC General Assembly Takes Place in Jerusalem
19.06.2012 On June 18, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) General Assembly finished its work in Jerusalem. Vadim Shulman, Acting EAJC President since November 2011, has been elected as the new President of the Congress.
During the last work day of the General Assembly, Yehuda Udi Ben Ami was elected Treasurer of the Congress after an open discussion. Ben Ami has previously worked in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a variety of business structures.
Also during that day JAFI Head Natan Scharansky made a speech for representatives of the region's communities. He discussed a significant number of matters concerning joint work between EAJC and JAFI in programs aimed at strengthening the Jewish identity and connections between the region's communities and the Jewish state. ZAKA leader Yehuda Meshi Zahav also spoke about cooperation with EAJC communities during his speech. ZAKA is a volunteer organization providing aid to victims of terroristic attacks and other emergencies. In particular, an agreement was reached on opening ZAKA representation offices in countries whose Jewish communities belong to the EAJC.
The delegates of Eastern European, post-Soviet, Asian and Pacific region countries shared their vision of the priority goals of the Congress, both in the near term and in the long-term. Questions considered particularly important by the deputies include the preservation, recording and memorialization of Jewish cultural and historical heritage, education as a whole (with particular emphasis on teaching Hebrew in post-Soviet territory), and intergenerational continuity, the preparation of new community leaders from among youth.
Before the closing of the extraordinary General Assembly session, delegates adopted three resolutions – on the youth policy of the Congress, on strengthening the solidarity of regional Jewish communities with the Jewish state, and a statement on the decline of the International Olympic Committee to honor the memory of the victims of the Munich tragedy as part of the official Olympic program in London.
The next General Assembly is to convene in 2014. The previous General Assembly also took place in Jerusalem, in 2007. According to the changes to the EAJC Charter adopted in 2007, the EAJC General Assembly convenes once per seven years.
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