RJC Monitor - 02.21.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress




Information Bulletin # 3

EAST MEETS WEST IN ALMATY

February 12 through 16, Almaty, in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, hosted a series of events aimed at bringing together Jewish and Islamic communities from across the world for a global Judeo-Islamic dialogue.

An international conference for peace and reconciliation took place here February 13, at the initiative of the host country's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. It had been arranged by the Kazakh Foreign Ministry and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), a World Jewish Congress continental branch serving as an umbrella for Jewish organizations in former Soviet republics, as well as in countries of Asia and the Pacific Rim. The forum was attended by Jewish leaders from Eurasia, including EAJC President Alexander Mashkevich, and from North America, including Mortimer Zuckerman, Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Among the attendees were also top officials of international Jewish organizations, such as Avi Beker, Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Mark B. Levin, Executive Director of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ), and Andrew Baker, Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress (AJC). The governments of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Turkey sent in their delegations; U.S. President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma sent their greetings. The gathering adopted a declaration "For Peace and Stability" and set up a Peace and Stability Forum, with a view to fostering dialogue between the nations and religions of East and West.

The Feb. 13 event was a follow-up to the 1st Eurasian Rabbinical Conference, held in Kazakhstan last October. The delegates to that conference had approached President Nazarbayev with a request that he take Judeo-Islamic dialogue under his auspices. 

Following the peace conference, Jewish communal leaders of Eurasia and North America had a meeting with Mr. Nazarbayev. 

Later that day, the delegation of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations met with Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Vladimir Shkolnik at the Hayat Hotel. The minister briefed his American audience on the current state and prospects of Kazakhstan's nuclear, oil and gas industries and then took their questions concerning the investment climate in the country. 

The following morning, the American Jewish leaders met at that same venue with the top management of a U.S. petroleum company, for a discussion on the development and use of energy resources and their importance for the relations between Kazakhstan and the United States. Their subsequent talks with senior Moslem clerics of Kazakhstan were crowned with the signing of a joint communique to consolidate the principles laid down in the Memorandum of Jewish and Moslem Leaders, a document adopted by the EAJC Rabbinical Council and Kazakhstan's Moslem Spiritual Administration in Almaty on October 21, 2002. Later on, the American guests were received by Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev. They were impressed not just by the minister's English fluency, but also by the subtle diplomacy he displayed in replying to pointed questions. 

February 14 through 16, delegates of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations had several get-togethers with EAJC leaders. Asher Ostrin, of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), overviewed his organization's operations in the Former Soviet Union, which are under his supervision. The Americans then split up into groups to visit the headquarters of some of the city's Jewish organizations. They presented the Kazakhstan Jewish Community with a Sefer Torah (or a hand-written Torah scroll). 

Sabbath ushered in three rounds of talks between North American and Eurasian communal leaders. Their discussions centered around international policies vis-a-vis Israel and the Jewish State's relations with Kazakhstan and Central Asia at large. 

Josef Zisels, Chairman of the EAJC General Board, held a routine board session. Its participants discussed priority areas in EAJC activity and took in new members. The successful candidates included David Zwartz, President of the New Zealand Jewish Council, Vadim Polyansky, Chairman of the Maccabiah Russia movement, and Zaur Gilalov, President of the World Congress of Jews of the Caucasus. 

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL TO OPEN IN ODESSA

The Holocaust Survivors Association of Odessa, in Ukraine, is working to create a memorial to the city's 240,000 Jews slaughtered by the Nazis during World War II. They want their memorial to also commemorate the Righteous Among the Nations, or those non-Jews who risked their lives to help members of the local Jewish community escape the Shoah.

Odessa City Hall has allotted a 13.2-hectare plot of land for the project site.

RJC: REGIONAL OUTREACH

The Russian Jewish Congress holds board sessions February 27 and 28.

On February 27, it will review last year's work and discuss plans and strategies for this year. Israeli Charge d'Affaires ad Interim Arkady Mil-Man will sum up the latest parliamentary polls in his country. Programs on the 2003 schedule of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) will be previewed by Shmuel Kessler, Director for JDC Operations in Russia. And Karol Ungar, head of the Jewish Agency for Israel's delegation to Russia, will reveal his organization's agenda for the year ahead. 

Representatives of RJC regional branches are expected to join the Board at its Feb. 28 session. President Yevgeny Satanovsky will highlight major projects implemented by the RJC last year and announce programs planned for this year. The participants will then focus on RJC regional operations.