2014 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 ANNUAL REPORT NCSEJ: National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry

2014 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 ANNUAL REPORT NCSEJ: National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry CONTACT US NCSEJ 1120 20th Street NW, Suite 300N Washington, DC 20036 (202) 898-2500 (202) 898-0822 fax @NCSJ facebook.com/thencsj Visit www.ncsej.org to sign up for NCSEJ updates. © 2015 NCSEJ. All rights reserved. For general inquiries, contact [email protected]. All photographs are from the archives of NCSEJ except where otherwise credited. Cover photographs (left, right blocks) and pages 2–5, 6 (bottom left), 8 (top center and bottom left), 9 (right), 10 (bottom), 16–19, and 21, are by Ron Sachs/CNP and Mannie Garcia/CNP. TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 MISSION AND BACKGROUND 3 LOOKING BACKWARD AND FORWARD STEPHEN M. GREENBERG, CHAIRMAN 4 NCSEJ AND THE NEW AGENDA ALEXANDER SMUKLER, PRESIDENT 5 NOTES ON THE YEAR MARK B. LEVIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 6 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR 12 CRISIS IN UKRAINE SPREADS TO THE REGION 16 BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETINGS 20 FEDERATION PARTNERS 21 FINANCIAL STATEMENT 22 DONORS, MEMBER AGENCIES, AND PROGRAM FUNDERS 25 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF MISSION AND BACKGROUND MISSION organizational spokesperson for the To empower and ensure the security renaissance of Jewish communal life in the of Jews in the fifteen independent fifteen successor states to the Soviet Union. states of the former Soviet Union and In 2014, NCSJ became NCSEJ, the Eastern Europe; to foster cooperation National Coalition Supporting Eurasian among the U.S. government, U.S. Jewry, with an expanded mission to Jewish organizations, and the Jewish promote and protect the growing Jewish communities and governments of communal presence throughout Eurasia, the region; to facilitate international including Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic Jewish organizations’ access to Jewish states, and Eastern Europe. communities; to represent the organized NCSEJ’s activities now include the U.S. Jewish community, including the twenty-five countries of Eurasia that Jewish Federations of North America and together constitute the world’s second- its member Federations; and to collaborate largest Jewish diaspora. The region is with other organizations for the provision ethnically diverse and economically of humanitarian aid, social services, and challenged, with still-fragile democratic educational/communal development institutions. Confronting increasing assistance throughout the region. tensions and violence in the region, NCSEJ helps solidify relations with BACKGROUND government officials and local Jewish Founded in 1971 as a coalition of Jewish communities across sometimes-hostile federations and national agencies to borders and takes an active role in coordinate the growing Free Soviet Jewry defining, communicating, and defending Movement, the National Conference Jewish interests on behalf of the on Soviet Jewry evolved into the American Jewish community. Board member Gene Burd with Boston JCRC’s Ann Levin and Yana Tolmacheva 2 National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry LOOKING BACKWARD AND FORWARD STEPHEN M. GREENBERG, CHAIRMAN It is hard to believe three years have passed since I became Chair of the NCSEJ board. They have been eventful years. We have faced new issues and demands, and we are today a stronger organization. The international crisis in Ukraine has focused our energy. Our expanding engagement with the countries of Eastern Europe, especially Poland, has broadened our reach and enriched our programming, and our work with the World Jewish Congress has provided an innovative model for the future. Nor have we ignored the domestic sphere. We have been part of the State Department and administration’s formulation of policy for Russia and Ukraine. Our testimony has been sought by Congressional committees and we have articulated Jewish interests in the region for diplomats in Washington as well as in foreign affairs ministries from Georgia to Lithuania. In a world where misinformation is a policy tool and rumor runs rife, accurate and reliable information is the front line of protecting Jewish communities and communal life. Having long honed our skills at news gathering and analysis, we have become the preeminent source of trusted information about Jewish affairs in Ukraine. "…information is Our electronic news updates, bulletins, and conference calls with the region’s Jewish the front line of leaders and with government officials in Ukraine and the U.S. are “must-have” sources protecting Jewish for our constituency. The crisis has affirmed our unique mission and value to the communities and federations and agencies that are our core members, and to the wide variety of Jewish organizations, political allies, and individuals that form our international community. communal life." This past year I attended the opening of the new Jewish museum in Warsaw, Poland. NCSEJ was invited to the celebration by Tad Taube, a strong NCSEJ supporter and the museum’s largest U.S. donor. It was an extraordinary occasion. The resurgence of Jewish life in Poland alone is worthy of celebration. The museum is much more than a tribute to the past; it is a reconsideration of Europe’s Jewish heritage. The exhibition makes clear that Jewish history from the Baltic Sea to the Danube River is inexorably intertwined with the larger history of the region. Its exploration of Ashkenazi culture and religious traditions contributes to a rich and inclusive history of Eastern Europe, which we welcome and applaud. Since I became Chair, NCSEJ’s long-term financial stability has never been far from my thoughts. Over the past several years we have developed a very successful annual Chanukah appeal. We regularly secure grants and receive support from a wide spectrum of Jewish philanthropies. In addition, in 2014 we began a fruitful collaboration with the World Jewish Congress. Our relationship is an innovative model for working with other sister organizations, which, in addition, can contribute to our financial well-being. If the past several years are an augur of the future, then I look forward to NCSEJ reaching new levels of activity and relevance. The international Jewish community will need better information, more careful analysis, wider knowledge, and greater understanding to win the fight for our security and our well-being. NCSEJ has never been more important or a better investment in the success of Jewish life in the world’s second-largest Jewish diaspora. 2014 Annual Report 3 NCSEJ AND THE NEW AGENDA ALEXANDER SMUKLER, PRESIDENT This has been the most unusual and intense year of my presidency. In 2014, NCSJ became NCSEJ. The change in name was not simply a rebranding of the organization but an important step into the future. It marked the end of the Soviet Jewry era. The new focus on Eurasian Jewry is more inclusive. A single Jewish community has become many Jewish communities with different histories, traditions, political environments, needs, and problems. After forty years of struggle, the success of the Free Soviet Jewry Movement was one of our great victories. The past decades have also included a largely unanticipated but extremely welcome renaissance of Jewish life throughout the region. However, little did we imagine how complicated the world would quickly become in the wake of our victory. The Jewish communities in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe face challenges from different kinds of governments and economic conditions. They have different agendas, visions of their future, and unresolved problems from the past. Nor could we imagine how rapidly Western relations with Russia would chill. The Maidan revolution, changes in the government of Ukraine, and the country’s closer "We need to alignment with the West triggered a Russian response. Turmoil, economic chaos, war in Eastern Ukraine, and the annexation of Crimea have become our new reality. strengthen our The overwhelming majority of Ukrainian Jews support the new Ukrainian government shared Jewish and welcome the reforms and closer ties with the West. Some, however, caught in identity to the country’s economic freefall or by the violence in the East, are leaving for Israel. withstand the Emigration has tripled this past year. forces pulling In Russia, the Jewish community have differing opinions on the situation with us apart." Ukraine. There is concern about reports of extreme nationalism in Ukraine, and there is support for the Russian government. Some are asking Western Jews to approach their governments to lift the sanctions against Russia. Others fear the isolation of a new “iron curtain,” or have simply left Russia. NSCEJ has a new and enlarged agenda that reflects the changed reality facing Jewish communities in Russia, Ukraine, and throughout the region. Conflict may well be a major component of our engagement over the next years. We will strive to keep these disagreements peaceful and respectful. We need to strengthen our shared Jewish identity to withstand the forces pulling us apart. We need to remember that we all support Israel and that emigration to Israel is a precious right. We also need to recognize that in this region, the world’s second-largest Jewish diaspora, there are historical differences among countries and Jewish communities that shape fundamentally different understandings of the world around us. 4 National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry NOTES ON THE YEAR MARK B. LEVIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR It has been a busy and uneasy year. The international situation has taken a good deal of our attention. The Russian and Ukrainian Jewish communities have been affected by the crisis in Eastern Ukraine. Internal displacement in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia have further exacerbated problems and tensions. In addition, Russia’s exercise of military and economic might has left countries in the region uneasy with their powerful neighbor. Despite the pressures, NCSEJ has remained a partner with all the Jewish communities in the region, focusing our energy on the promotion and protection of Jewish communal life. We help American Jews and the U.S. government gain a better understanding of and craft appropriate responses to these changing events.

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