RJC Monitor - 05.31.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress

GAME OF THE WEEK: RJC TEAM AGAINST “SPARTAK” VETERANS 

Unusual football game took place in the Big sport arena Luzhniki on the 22nd of May. RJC team challenged “Spartak” veterans. 

RJC team goalkeeper was Moscow Jewish Community vice-president Pavel Feldblyum, “Spartak” goalkeeper was legendary Rinat Dasaev. Prominent businessmen Aleks Blavatnik, Akif Gilalov, Erast Mataev, David Magidson, well-known journalist Mikhail Berger, “Darkey Shalom” community rabbi in Otradnoye David Karpov played for RJC team. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Israeli State in Russia Arcadiy Mil-Man participated in the game on the RJC side.

In the middle of the game Spartak had to replace Dasaev injured after the “dangerous situation near the Spartak gate”. After this RJC players scored a lot. However, game finished with a score 9:7 in favour of Spartak.

Usual participators of Jewish football team’s Sunday games in Luzhniki RAO “UES of Russia” deputy chairman Yakov Urinson and “Maccabi-Moscow” sport club president Sergey Tankilevich were among supporters for several reasons. Beside one of the most famous supporters in Russian Jewish community, Russian mayor rabbi Adolf Shaevich was absent. Game players joked that he couldn’t manage with a problem of “double loyality”: he is RJC Presidium member and at the same time traditional Spartak supporter for many years.

BOARD MEETING OF EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN MOSCOW

On the 23-24th of May Board meeting European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC) was held in Russian Jewish Congress office in Moscow. Approximately 30 chairmen of Jewish organizations from Western and Eastern Europe, Russia and former Soviet republics participated in meeting.

ECJC is a leading European organization including and coordinating communities and organizations virtually in all West-European and East-European countries. A number of municipal and federal Russian Jewish organizations including Russian Jewish Congress are members of ECJC from the early 1990s. Many of Russian Jewish leaders are in ECJC executive boards.

Russian Jewish Congress for a first time gathered Jewish leaders in the place of future Moscow Jewish Community complex “Na Gorke”. Mayor working events were held in RJC office and sabbatical sacred worships were serviced in Great Chorale synagogue.

Jewish Communities leaders two days discussed questions of Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, coordination between communities and Israeli State. Collaboration in education, charity, culture and juvenile programs was discussed.

Now a special concern of Jewish Europe is the upbringing of rising generation, as assimilation is a severe threat to the future of communities valuing national identity as a religious factor. Synagogue attendance decrease resulted daily minian being sustained due to paid “professional” Jews in some key European communities.

Contemporary world situation makes European Jews to face lots of challenges. These are European anti-Semitism intensification taking absolutely racist forms; synagogue burnings; slaughter of religious and non-religious Jews; Jewish State baiting campaigns in national media. Therefore European Jews get anxious about their future. Jews become a main target of local Islamists and a victim of local politician’s conformism.

Palestinian situation has not only consolidated Israeli society but also split Europe. Jewish leaders which felt a comfort in the unite European home just a few time ago now are realizing that community existence is under the threat.

First working day was dedicated to Russian Jewish community views about the future of Russian and European Jewry and its approach to European integration. RJC president Evgeniy Satanovsky made a speech as a main contributor. After his speech a discussion related primarily with special approach of Russian Jewish Community to the joint European Jewish home building was opened. The discussion was volcanic because today Russian Jewry is not ready to be an outsider in Jewish Europe. Russian Jewish Community is much more dynamic and financially independent then European Communities. Its institutes are developing very fast (while European Jewry suffers stagnation) and not only “come forward” capturing new cultural bases but defend from local anti-Semitism and aggressive Islamic xenophobia.

Integration between Russian Jews and unite European Jewry is now at the same level as integration between Russia and European community. Russian Jews as well as Russia are certainly a part of Europe from points of culture and civilization. But their internal systems, interests and long-term strategy are different.

“Jewish Moscow” is successfully consolidating Jewish communities in former USSR space, making simultaneously audacious bids to appear in Germany, the US and Israel. Jewish Europe is in opposite situation facing difficult problems in integration with East-European Jewry and former Soviet citizens.

Today leaders of Jewish Russia are not only interested in integration into Jewish Europe but to defend its interests in international programs where dissolution in the European space tends to embarrass. Russian community begins to perceive its own consolidating mission in the World Jewish space and considerable difference between European and Russian problems. It is to be the point of collaboration with the Israeli State, concerns about the level of anti-Semitism, which is much higher in Europe then in Russia, and possibilities of political lobbying. Is it necessary to recall that Russian is included into the informal anti-terrorist alliance with the US and Israel while the majority of European countries only demonstrates symbolic solidarity?

European Communities representatives took into account this position. In fact today Russian Jewish Community is on the second place in Diaspora after the US community by a scale of means attracted for programs.

A volcanic discussion covered a question of Russian language as a consolidating language of “Russian-speaking” Jews. Aggressive reports of Estonian and Lithuanian representatives including occupation reminiscences can be easily explained by the fears of tiny, weak and financially dependent communities of these states to emerge as “fifth column” in conditions of aggressive nationalistic growth.

On the second working day Council discussed internal questions. Evening session was dedicated to actual problems of Russian community internal life. President of Jewish University in Moscow Aleksander Militarev, director of Hebrew Centre in Asian and African Studies Institute (MSU department) Arkadiy Kovelman, main editor of the newspaper “Jewish news” Nicolay Propirniy, president of welfare organization HAMA’s Russian department Greta Elinson and Centre “Safer” director Victoria Mochalova participated in it. 

GIFT FOR THE 300th ST PETERSBURG’S ANNIVERSARY

On the 27th of May Russian Jewish Congress president Evgeniy Satanovsky presented to Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky golden sarmatian vessel in the Winter Palace of Peter the Great at the Assembly of the World Petersburg citizens club. Golden amphora decorated with garnets (length 5,5 cm, diameter 3,5 cm) dates from II-IV century before Christmas. It is the only one sarmatian vessel which came to us undisclosed. Several analogs placed in foreign collections are empty and conserved in worse conditions. Hermitage collection did not have anything like this. According to academician Piotrovsky RJC’s gift will get a worthy place in the exposition of the greatest museum in the Northern Capital.

The unique vessel was saved for Russian museum collection not a long time before to leave the country forever. It is the common destiny for a considerable part of rarities found in the Russian territory and placed in private collections.

Russian Jewish Congress program on behalf of science includes “Khazar project”. It bases on the complex investigation of early Russian history stages, supports archeological diggings, publishing program, restoration and reconstruction of artifacts, forms archeological collection of Jewish university in Moscow, so called “Khazar collection”. Beside ceramics and arms, common items and jewels from the Khazar Chagan times, scientist often finds rarities, which are very important to preserve history but not dealing directly with khazars. Russian Jewish Congress presented part of them for State Historic Museum and other part (including unique collection of Islamic glass from XIII-XIV centuries) for State Hermitage. Sarmatian vessel presentation is continuation of collaboration between RJC and Russian museums.

Academician Piotrovsky gave high estimation to the Russian Jewish Congress and its president contribution on behalf of wonderful Russian tradition to form museum collections with items saved by native patrons of art from selling abroad and to private collections. RJC president speaking back emphasized that conservation of Russian historic heritage should be the general concern of all people living in the country unrespectable to nationality and religion.

CONFERENCE OF RUSSIAN RUBIES 

On the 27-29 of May Conference of Russian rabbies was held in Memorial synagogue on Poklonnaya gora in Moscow. Conference was organized by Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia (CJROAR) under the auspices of Russian Jewish Congress and Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

More then 50 rabbis and Jewish religious communities chairmen, as it was said in one speech “from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok and from Magadan to Krasnodar”, and numerous foreign guests participated in the session Mayor Russian rabbi opened the session with a program speech. One of the most his presentation’s important moments was the proposition to create the union of orthodox Jews. Creation of such union is necessary because different subconfessional brunches of Judaism have their own bases to solve internal problems: for instance Lyubavitch Hasids and progressive Judaists have their own organizations. And only traditional and historically main brunch of Judaism does not have its own structure. CJROAR will stay the uniting structure for all communities willing to participate in it and will solve global strategic questions.

Audience was greeted by State Duma Committee responsible for relations with religious organizations Valeriy Zorkaltsev, extraordinary and plenipotentiary Israeli State ambassador Arcadiy Mil-Man, representatives of Russian Orthodoxal Church, Spiritual administration of Russian muslims and several Russian and foreign Jewish leading organizations.

Russian Jewish Congress executive vice-president Yuriy Raskin read the greeting of RJC president Evgeniy Satanovsky for the audience. “Today, after democracy won, the process of Jewry revival is astonishing. Community is developing and this is not a recovered community but new community of people detached generally from their national roots. It is severe challenge for Jewish religious agents. You face many questions to be solved. Answers should direct community toward the future and not to return to the past. Many things demand serious overestimation and unusual approach”, - the message particularly says.

For three days session participants have been sharing their experience in solving different community’s problem and discussing actual questions including money collection for community, building the infrastructure for kosher food, using media communications for the work of community and implementing computers for improving Torah reading.

The main result of the session is the founding of Jewish religious orthodox union “Federation of Russian orthodox Jews”. Mayor Russian rabbi Adolf Shaevich was elected as a head of the new structure. 

RJC PROJECTS. “ACTS OF TERRORISM IN ISRAEL/HOTLINE” 

Russian Jewish Congress and Jewish Russian-speaking Virtual Community (www.veronet.org) created Internet project “Acts of terrorism in Israel/Hotline” (http://hotline.ijc.ru/pages) to provide Internet audience with information about Arab-Israeli conflict and to express a support for Israeli State citizens, victims of suicidal terrorism. This project makes it possible for each Hotline visitor to express his own view about Palestinian terror policy.

Internet project is followed be real actions of support for Israeli citizens suffered from terrorism. Signatures supporting “Solidarity letter with Israeli people” have been being collected from April 2002. For today more then 26000 signatures from more then 60 countries are gathered. A year ago Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon received a book with more then 6000 electronic signatures collected for that time.

After the creation of the project “Memorial of Palestinian terror victims” appeared at its pages. It is the chapter where short biographies and portraits of innocent victims suffered from Arab radicalism are published. Recently project “Hotline” was added with new informational and analytic sections in view of terrorism increase. 

Section “Important” contains detailed chronicle of act of terrorist caused victims among Israeli in the Middle East. The most recent event is a highlight in the middle of the page. This section contains news line about reaction to tragic events in Israel all over the world and chapter with information about activities showing solidarity with Israeli people conducted in different countries. The chapter is called “Solidarity with Israel”. The last not can be seen in the main page of the projects. 

One more news of the project is analytic section “Point of view”. This section contains recent articles with opinions, forecasts, analysis of political columnists about Arab-Israeli confrontation, security for Israel and its citizens.

We suggest you to take part in our Internet-action! Join your vote for thousands for Israeli people listen them and understand that they are not alone.