RJC Monitor - 08.30.2002

 

The Russian Jewish Congress




Information Bulletin # 24  

SOCHNUT REVIEWS YEAR'S WORK IN FSU
FSU-based staff of the Jewish Agency of Israel, or the Sochnut, have held a session in Moscow to evaluate the work done over a period of one year. 

Several dozen Sochnut agents, often referred to as shaliah, came together for the August 27 session from all across the Former Soviet Union. RJC President Yevgeni Satanovsky, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Nathan Meron, and senior officials of the Sochnut's head office in Jerusalem addressed the gathering. 

In the early 1990s, the Sochnut was focused on efforts to arrange for Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel. The mid-'90s saw the agency extend its scope to promote Russo-Israeli cooperation in culture, education, and scientific research. 

As the RJC President remarked, the Sochnut helps maintain "the natural Jewish circulation," with many of Israel's Soviet immigrants returning to the FSU as staffers of Israeli and international agencies. Thus, the Jewish Agency of Israel is now a bridge open to two-way traffic.

KEROOR WORKSHOP USHERS IN FALL HOLIDAYS 
The Congress of Jewish Religious Communities and Organizations in Russia (known by the acronym KEROOR) has arranged a workshop ahead of the autumn Jewish festivals. The workshop, held at Porechye, outside Moscow, was attended by representatives of Jewish communities and rabbis of Russia.