Euroasian Jewish News

EAJC General Council Chairman Josef Zisels at the Holon Town Hall

Chairman of EAJC General Council Visits Israel

The Chairman of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) General Council Josef Zisels has made a working visit to Israel, during which he held a number of meetings concerning the different joint programs and initiatives of the Congress and its Israeli partners.

On February 6, Josef Zisels discussed a number of projects aimed to preserve Jewish cultural heritage in the Ukrainian city of Lviv with the representative of the Lviv repatriate community Eli Brauner and Dr. Sergei Kravtsov (Center of Jewish Art of the Jewish University in Jerusalem).

On February 7, a meeting took place with the JAFI Board of Governors Chairman Natan Sharansky, which included a discussion of various possibilities for joint work and the joint EAJC and JAFI projects for 2013.

That same day, the Chairman of the EAJC General Council discussed the Ukrainian situation with the leaders of the Euro-Asia division of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anna Azari and Yaakov Livne. A number of plans were also discussed for the cooperation of the EAJC and the Israeli MFA.

On February 10, Josef Zisels discussed current Congress activity with first EAJC Vice President Mikhail Mirilashvili.

That same day, negotiations were held with the head of the Liaison Bureau (Nativ, Lishkat Hakesher) Naomi Ben Ami on joint work to be done by Nativ and the Congress in 2013.

On February 11, Josef Zisels held a meeting with the mayor of Holon Moti Sasson, during which an agreement had been reached that the EAJC would support the joint “Us and Them” project, organized by the Holon Department of Education jointly with the EAJC, the Shemeth organization (“Roots – Leadership – Culture”), and the Israeli Ministry of Absorption. The goal of the project is to acquaint the directors and teachers of Holon's city schools with the rich world of Russian-speaking Jewry, the culture and heritage of former residents of the Soviet Union who currently reside in Israel. The program will consist of 14 meetings in Israel and a trip to Ukraine. It will help the educators learn about the lives of former Soviet Jews and to acquire the necessary “instruments” for effective educative work with repatriates and their children.

During the lectures, the participants will learn about the history and life of Jews in Tsarist Russia and the USSR, which will lead them to a deeper understanding of Israel's Russian-speaking Jewry. Special attention will be given to the contribution of Russian Jews to the development of the Zionist movement and Jewish culture (literature, art, theater, and so on), to the heroism of the Jews of the USSR during World War II, the participation of Jews in the dissident movement, and to the contribution of former Soviet residents to the development of contemporary Israel. The course will also include practical workshops to provide the participants with basic rules of thumb for effective work with repatriates and their children.

The opening ceremony for the project took place on February 12, with the participation of EAJC representative Haim Ben Yakov.
 
Photo 2: working moment during the round table at the opening of the “Us and Them” project.