EAJC Rabbi Council Secretary General to Lead Dialogue with Eastern Churches
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GOVERNING BOARD JERUSALEM 19-21 JUNE 2011 REGIONAL REPORTS EAJC Report AUGUST 2010 – MAY 2011 11.08.2010 "Sources of Tolerance" International Camp Opens Over 200 children ages 9-16 from 17 national communities took part in the opening of the international children's Sources of Tolerance camp, which took place in Yasenya, near Goverla, the highest mountain in Ukrain. The camp was organised by the Congress of National Communities of Ukraine (CNCU) from August 11-28, with the support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, the Danish Refugee Council, and other charity organizations and private sponsors. The CNCU Executive Vice President is Josef Zisels, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress General Council chairman and chairman of the Association of Jewish Communities and Organizations of Ukraine. The aim of the project is to foster international and interfaith tolerance in children and youth, to counter xenophobia, to form an active civil position in representatives of national communities, and to spread knowledge about the national and religious diversity of Ukraine. 31.08.2010 EAJC President Puts Forward Initiative to Defend Israel On August 31, 2010, Alexander Machkevitch, the President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) spoke at the plenary meeting of the Executive Committee of the World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem with an initiative to conduct the 4th Brussels conference in 2011. This proposal generated a strong public response. The conference is to be aimed at coordinating the efforts of international Jewish organizations to oppose the efforts to delegitimize the Jewish state, which have recently intensified. 02.09.2010 EAJC President Gives Torah Scroll to Tel-Aviv Synagogue Alexander Machkevitch presented a Torah scroll to the Tel-Aviv synagogue Beit Moshe, which had recently opened after a renovation. 03.09.2010 EAJC Aids Family of Repatriates Killed In Kiryat Arba Attack The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) was among the first to aid the children of Israelis killed in a shooting attack. Yitzhak and Tali Imas were killed by terrorists on the 31st of August, near the Kiryat Arba settlement. Their six children have become orphans. Representatives of the EAJC leadership, who were in Jerusalem at a session of the World Jewish Congress, promptly reacted to this tragedy. 05.09.2010 EAJC General Council Session Opens in Kiev A session of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), was held in Kiev, Ukraine. Leaders of the various Jewish organizations from the entire FSU and many Easter European countries, as well as the Asian-Pacific region, gathered in Kiev to participate in the session. 07.09.2010 EAJC Leaders Visit Uman Before Rosh-ha-Shana On September 7, Alexander Machkevitch, the President of the Euro Asian Jewish Congress visited the Ukrainian city of Uman to pray on the grave of Rabbi Nachman from Bratslav on the eve of Rosh-ha-Shana. Members of the EAJC General Council, which convened during the previous day in Kyiv, also visited the grave of the great tsaddik together with the EAJC leader, as did the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel Iona Metzger, Mikhail Mirilashvili, the First EAJC Vice President, Merab Elashvili, Eduard Greenshpun, Boris Litovsky, the EAJC Vice Presidents and Vadim Rabinovich, the President of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress. EURO-ASIAN JEWISH CONGRESS REPORT: PAGE 1 OF 10 19.09.2010 Ukrainian Meetings of the EAJC Leader During an official visit of the father of the "Singapore economic miracle" Lee Kuan Yew to Ukraine, a specially organized meeting with Alexander Machkevitch, the EAJC President took place. Lee Kuan Yew was the Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. In August of 2004, he took the place of minister-mentor in the new government headed by his son Lee Hsien Loong. Under Lee Kuan Yew's leadership, Singapore has gone from a poor third-world country to being one of the richest countries in the world. Alexander Machkevitch travelled to Kyiv at the invitation of Mykola Azarov, the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Their meeting involved discussion of such questions as current and possible questions of Ukrainian economic development, investment climate in Ukraine, and social sphere problems. Mr. Machkevitch paid special attention to the power economy, and agreed with the Prime Minister about regular consultations on the topic. 27.09.2010 EAJC President Meeting With Prime Minister of Jordan Alexander Machkevitch, the President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress visited Amman at the invitation of the Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Samir Zaid al-Rifai, to discuss a number of investment projects which will include neighboring countries. The scope of the projects can be inferred from the fact that the royal ministers of economics, infrastructure, energy, and finances were all involved in the negotiations. 08.10.2010 Congress Collegium First Anniversary It was exactly a year ago that an initiative group consisting of members of the business world who are part of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) created an informal union of enterpreneurs ("colleagues"), organized like a club, thus the „Congress Collegium‟ was born. The College's membership has increased greatly over the year, uniting more people who became interested in its varied and effective activity. The year has seen the main kinds of events held take form, leading development directions defined, and a list of services provided to members. 15.10.2010 EAJC Secretary General Participates In Meeting With Head of Russian International Affairs Committee On October 13, Professor Michael Chlenov, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) Secretary General participated in a meeting between the Moscow delegation of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) and Mikhail Margelov, the Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council. In response to a question asked by Richard Stone, the NCSJ Chairman and Mark Levin, the Conference Executive Director on Iran's nuclear ambitions, Margelov stressed that Russia is sympathetic to the stated concerns of the problem, and that its recent political actions confirm this, demonstrating a clear political position. The meeting also discussed an increase in the so called "new anti-Semitism" in Europe and attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel. The Russian politician pointed out that these problems are part of a broader social phenomena that pose a threat to modern Europe. The participants expressed willingness for mutual support in confronting these negative phenomena. 18.10.2010 EAJC Secretary General Participates in Population Census Press Conference On the 18th of October, Michael Chlenov, the EAJC Secretary General, took part in the RIANovosti Press Conference. The topic of the conference was "Are Jews the disappearing ethnicity of Russia? What will the all-Russian population census Show?" Professor Chlenov was there in his official capacity as the Vice President of the Federal Jewish National Cultural Autonomy (FJNCA). The FNJCA is a leading EAJC partner in Russia, and EAJC President Alexander Machkevitch leads the FJNCA Board of Guardians. Evgenia Mikhaleva, the FJNCA Director General and Mark Kupovetsky, a demographer from the Russian State University for the EURO-ASIAN JEWISH CONGRESS REPORT: PAGE 2 OF 10 Humanities (RSUH) Center for Biblical and Jewish Studies Director also participated in the press conference. The the press conference was prompted by the fact that, according to the official data, the Jewish population of Russia has been decreasing. All of the participants of the press conference agreed with the opinion of the EAJC Secretary General that, despite a dramatic drop in numbers, the Jewish community of Russia remains one of the largest in the world, and continues to play a significant role in the world Jewish diaspora. 20.10.2010 EAJC General Council Chairman Speaks at Jerusalem Conference Josef Zisels, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) General Council Chairman reported on “Historic Memory and the Problem of Reconciliation” as part of the scientific conference “Ukrainian-Jewish Meeting: Cultural Interactions, Perceptions, Memory,” which took place in Jerusalem. The event was organized by the “Ukrainian-Jewish Meeting Initiative,” a Canadian association, with the support of the Museum of Israel and the University of Jerusalem. The conference saw discussion of both historic questions and present-day affairs. 24.10.2010 EAJC General Council Chairman Meetings in Jerusalem Josef Zissels, the Chairman of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) General Council held a number of meetings and negotiations in Jerusalem as part of his Israel working visit. In particular, Josef Zissels met with Ambassador David Peleg, the Director General of the World Jewish Restitution Organization and discussed the ongoing situation concerning restitution of community property in Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, as well as possibilities to continue joint activities in describing these objects. Josef Zissels also met with Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, the Minister of Information and Diaspora and discussed the possibilities and perspectives of EAJC participation in Ministry projects in Diaspora countries. Josef Zissels also participated in the meeting of the FSU Comittee, which was part of the Board of Trustees session of the Jewish Agency for Israel. 08.11.2010 EAJC First Vice President Provides Charitable Assistance to "Migdal Ohr" Educational Network Michael Mirilashvili, the EAJC First Vice President has made a one million US dollar donation in support of the Israeli educational network ''Migdal Ohr'' on behalf of the EAJC. “Migdal Ohr,” established by Rabbi Yizchak Dovid Grossman and run by the same for 40 years now, has become a national educational network with a student body of thousands. Its core is made up of boys and girls from disfunctional homes, orphans, and new immigrants. Rabbi Grossman has received numerous accolades and awards including the prestigious Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement for his outstanding and tireless work on behalf those in need. “Migdal Ohr” has also been acclaimed the best educational network in Israel.