RJC Monitor - 09.19.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress

Prominent Jewish Philanthropist Celebrates His 50th Birthday

September 13 and 14 saw not a few Jewish leaders from the former USSR celebrating the 50th birthday of the prominent Russian Jewish entrepreneur and philanthropist Vyacheslav-Moshe Kantor.

Mr. Kantor is head of Akron Company, which competes in the marketplace with such giants as MDM and Yukos. Well-known for his funding of the building of a synagogue in the city of Novgorod Veliki, he is currently involved in the rehabilitation of the Lyubavichi settlement in the Smolensk Region, the birth place of the founder of the most noticeable trend in Hassidism. A dedicated champion of efforts to revive Jewish culture, Mr. Kantor holds the post of vice-president of the Eurasian Jewish Congress.

The celebrations, which took place on the shore of Lake Geneva, drew several noted representatives of Russia’s Jewish community, the business people, politicians and artists. Among Moshe Kantor’s guests were Alexander Mashkevich, president of the Eurasian Jewish Congress; RJC President Evgeni Satanovsky, VAAD President Mikhail Chlenov; Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt; and Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar of the Federation of Russian Jewish Communities.

“University of the Jewish People” Bridges Gap between Israel and Russia

Cooperation between leading academics of Israel and Russia was the theme of discussions between the rector of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, Chaim Rabinowitch, RJC President Evgeni Satanovsky and Prof. Alexander Militarev, president of the Dubnov Higher School for the Humanities, September 16. Mr. Rabinovitch was on a working visit to Moscow.

A mathematics department set up in Jerusalem for Albert Einstein years ago became the cornerstone of Hebrew University, which is listed among the twenty leading schools of higher learning in the world today. It is also popularly known as the ‘University of the Jewish People.’

With Russian-speaking Israelis comprising a sizable part of its student population, Hebrew University today serves as a bridge of sorts between Israel and Russia, supporting what are probably the most advanced programs of cooperation between the two countries.

HU’s primary partners in Russia are the two leading Jewish schools and two principal national universities: the Dubnov Higher School for the Humanities (formerly JUM), the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow State University, the St. Petersburg Institute of Jewish Studies, and St. Petersburg State University.

Dr. Zeev Elkind, coordinator of HU’s and JAFI’s programs in the former USSR, also took part in the talks at RJC head office in Moscow.

Russian Jews Want Their Claims to Be Heard and Heeded at Claims Conference

Representation of Jewish organizations of the former Soviet Union at the Claims Conference was the theme of the meeting between RJC President Evgeni Satanovsky and members of a Claims Conference delegation which visited Moscow in mid-September.

Created by the World Jewish Conference after World War Two, Claims Conference was instrumental in making benefit payments to hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world. Today, funds that Claims Conference receives from government and corporate funds are used to support Holocaust survivors and sponsor programs of AJJDC, JAFI, and Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.

It is with a sense of bitter irony that many in Russia describe the situation when the Jews of the former USSR, who did not suffer any less than their European brethren during World War Two, do not have a spokesman of their own at the principal organization dealing with the distribution of reparation funds.

The funding for Russian program “Lessons of the Holocaust,” which aims at training high school teachers, and a tolerance-building program in education which is supported by the Russian government, were also discussed at the meeting held September 16 at the RJC offices.

Russian Jewish “Congressmen” Discuss Realty Market in Moscow

The premises of the prestigious Moscow Monolith club barely accommodated all those who wished to participate in the September 18 session of the RJC business club Congressman. Three reasons account for the unusual turnout of members and guests: the agenda--Realty Market in Moscow, which in one way or another concerns most business people; the person presenting it--First Deputy Mayor of Moscow Vladimir Resin, who has been in charge of the grandiose Moscow development project for several years; and the presence of top-ranking officials from the Moscow and federal administrations.

In his opening address, Mr. Resin, who was recently elected chairman of the RJC Board of Trustees, outlined the current state of the Moscow’s urban development complex and the government’s short and long-range plans in the field. His report was followed by that of the Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Russia, Arkady Dvorkovich; head of the Agency for Federal Property in the City of Moscow Tatiana Naidenova, President of the Russian Realtors Guild Igor Gorsky, and Konstantin Korolevsky, deputy head of the department in charge of development policy in Moscow.

Present at the meeting were Mr. Vladimir Nechayev, former economics minister of Russia; Mr. Vitali Matschitsky, president of the Rinko Holding group of companies; Mr. Gennady Shtern, director general of the Mosmetrostroi organization, which is in charge of all underground construction projects in the capital. Guests who joined the 50 card-carrying members of the Congressman Club included Rabbi Berl Lazar of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, Mr. Shmuel Kesler, head of the AJJDC Moscow Office, and representatives of the US Embassy.

Taking part in the round-table discussion after the main reports were, among others, Russia’s deputy minister of property relations, Alexander Broverman; chairman of the State Duma Committee on Property, Viktor Pleskachevsky; the first deputy head of Moscow land property committee, Galina Brazdnikova; as well as presidents and directors of major construction and real estate companies in Moscow.

Even after the formal briefings and debates were over, quite a few of the club members still seemed interested in socializing. Among those who stayed behind were Alex Blavatnik of the Access Industries Inc. Leon Gandelman of Le Monti, Igor Linshits of the Neftyanoi Bank, Zaur Ghilalov of the ZAR group of companies, Leonid Gilman of the Deal More trade group, and Alan Bigman of TNK.

“I am glad to say today that the club project has been realized,” says RJC Executive Vice-president Yuri Raskin, who developed the Congressman project and has served as its host. “I’ve had this idea for some time. I realized that we needed to create a ground to enable business people who are not indifferent to charity projects of the Russian Jewish Congress to communicate in comfortable surroundings. It looks like our business club answers this demand. We are offering these people a package of services, and they accept the club rule that a portion of the dues goes toward our charity projects. In other words, we combine fundraising with provision of useable services which are more and more in demand,” he concludes.

A photographic report of the meeting can be found at: http://www.rjc.ru\\bclub.

The World Russian-speaking Jewish Community Publishes Progress Report

A fresh newsletter promulgated by the VERO organization (www.veronet.org) reports the following:

With some of its projects transcending the scope of the Internet, the Virtual Russian-speaking Jewish Community changed the first element of its name to ‘World” several months ago. However, it has kept its Russian acronym VERO, since the change of the English words did not affect it. The change was suggested by several of VERO’s active members, who also argued that the new designation is more in line with the organization’s chief goal—to promote real community of Russian-speaking Jews around the world.

The anti-defamation project launched by VERO (http://www.antisemitismu.net) has published three monthly reports. Compiled by the VERO monitoring service, the reports cover anti-Semitic occurrences around the world as well as anti-xenophobia actions taken by authorities and NGOs. Daily bulletins are sent to VERO activists on request. Visitors to the site participate in the forum on the subject.

A hotline devoted to terrorist attacks in Israel (http://hotline.ijc.ru) continues to collect signatures to the letter of solidarity with the people of Israel. In addition, dozens of visitors from around the world send in their comments and words of sympathy, as well as expressions of their wrath toward the terrorists.

A new information project VERO launched in July (www.veronet.org/community) includes an extensive catalog of Jewish communities in Russia. Covering about 50 communities, this resource presents addresses and contact information for local Jewish organizations and well-known personalities. Community news section is regularly updated with local reports. A special section of the site is entitled ‘Encyclopaedia of Jewish Communities and Diasporas of the World.’

More information is available at: http://www.veronet.org