On August 22, the Jewish children’s summer camp “Shorashim-Caucasus-2013” began work in the Premier Palace hotel in Bakuriani (Georgia). The camp was organized by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. Approximately 80 participants from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine will immerse themselves into the world of Jewish history and into the traditions of the communities of the Southern Caucasus.

On August 23, 2013, following a lecture by Dr. Lela Tsitsuashvili, the participants of the camp went to Akhaltsyhe city, where two experts (Artem Fedorchuk (Israel) and Mikhail Bessmertniy (Ukraine - Russia)) showed them two remaining synagogues and the Jewish cemetery. The participants were shown how matzevah inscriptions are deciphered, and they even participated in a small discovery when a matzevah from 1800 had been found.

The goal of the Shorashim-Caucasus-2013 camp is to teach its participants about the history, culture, traditions, and customs of the Jewish people in Georgia and Azerbaijan, to allow them to form a connection to the ancient and modern world of the Diaspora and Israel, to strengthen and develop the participant Jewish communities, to foster national self-identification, to teach leadership and creativity to the young generation, and to teach tolerance in a policultural world.

The project is implemented with the support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, whose current active leaders are Josef Zisels (EAJC Vice President, Chairman of VAAD Ukraine, Executive Vice President of the Congress of National Communities of Ukraine, Executive Vice President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine), German Zakharyayev (EAJC Vice President, famous philanthropist, President of the STMEGI International Charity Foundation of Mountain Jews), Mark Shabad (EAJC Vice President, important businessman, communitiy activist and philanthropist, an activist of the Independent Jewish Movement, head of the Jewish Cultural Association (JCA), one of the first legal Jewish organizations of the USSR, which became the foundation for VAAD and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, President of the Russian Society of Friends of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem).

The 20 years of experience of the Shorashim project in Ukraine have proved its effectiveness in informal Jewish education and strengthening the Jewish communities of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. In 2013, VAAD Ukraine (a co-founder of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress) initiated an implementation of the project in the Caucasus, for the Jewish children of Georgia and Azerbaijan. Thanks to the joint efforts of the representatives of Jewish communities of Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, the project became a reality.

Among those who helped prepare and organize the project were experienced professionals and volunteers of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the creative team and teacher group of the “Children Initiative” program (Jewish Cultural Educational Fund, Tbilisi, Georgia), representatives of the DJCC, the Jewish Agency of Georgia and Azerbaijan, and VAAD Ukraine.

The camp’s work consists of a specially developed system of educational events covering various aspects of Jewish life in the Caucasus, in Israel, and in the Diaspora, as well as clubs, recreation, sports, and tours.

The morning educational programs will focus on Jewish history in the Caucasus; on the diversity in Georgian and Azerbaijanian Jewish communities, their culture, traditions, art, and everyday life; the traditional Jewish family and household values; the symbols of Jewish culture; Jewish languages and names; Jewish cuisine; the emergence and development of the Jewish community in Krasnaya Sloboda (Quba city, Azerbaijan).

The evenings will be filled with educational activities focusing on the role of Israel in the life of the Jewish people. Events, both for small groups and the entire camp, have been developed on the following topics: Get to Know Israel (“Important People” and “Living Map”), Israel Today (“Inventions, Achievements, Holidays” and “Patriotism in Israel”), Communities and Sub-Ethnicities of the Jewish People in Israel, A Word in Defense of Israel.

The children also have a plethora of clubs and regular activities available, including stuyding Hebrew, cinema, photo, capoeira, psychology; swimming and sports clubs; “Mythbusters,” “What? Where? When?” and the DIY-Club.

The children will learn hands-on about the history, material culture, and life of the Jewish communities of Akhaltsikhe city and Tbilisi, will see Sephardic and Ashkenazi synagogues, will learn how to decipher writing on Jewish matzevahs, visit the museum of Jewish art at the Rabat fortress, and will visit Jewish neighborhoods.

Every evening is full of interesting events, including competitions, quizzes, games, presentations, movies, and dance parties, all related to the theme of the camp.

The children also have a choice of sports activities while in the camp, including soccer, basketball, table-tennis, badminton, billiard, and swimming.