FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 9, 2009

CONTACT: Lesley Weiss (202) 898-2500 LWeiss@ncsj.org

Russian, U.S. Students Meet in D.C. for Jewish Advocacy Program

Building the bonds for future international cooperation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Starting on October 12, 2009, NCSJ will host 17 Russian and American Jewish students for a one-week advocacy training program in Washington, D.C., in collaboration with American University Hillel and with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington as part of the Federation's Washington-Moscow Connection.

Students from American University Hillel who participated in NCSJ's Student Leadership Program in Russia in 2008 will join with the Moscow Hillel students for both a reunion and participation in the week's activities, high points of which will include visits to Congress and the State Department to learn first-hand about the workings of the U.S. government, and seminars in advocacy and foreign policymaking led by NCSJ.

These activities affirm NCSJ's educational goals to develop the next generation of international Jewish leadership and to build bonds among Jewish leaders in the U.S. and Russia.

As with all the NCSJ Student Leadership exchanges, friendships and shared experiences will become the basis on which to build the bonds of future international Jewish leadership. The Russian students will spend time on the American University campus and experience the social and academic sides of U.S. university life. In addition, they will visit local area Hillel foundations and share experiences of growing up Jewish in Moscow with their U.S. hosts.

"The Washington program will further strengthen the partnership that exists between both the Jewish and the political communities in Moscow and Washington and enhance the students' cultural identities and leadership skills," said NCSJ's Lesley Weiss, who created and directs the five-year-old program.

"NCSJ and Washington Federation are proud to support this project, introducing Jewish Russian students to the American way of advocacy in public policy. It strengthens bonds between the students and allows for a continuing relationship, which is the prerequisite for future international collaboration," said Allen Kronstadt, Federation Board member and recent co-chair of its Washington-Moscow Connections Committee, and a Vice-President of NCSJ.

For further information about the visit and about NCSJ's Student Leadership Program, please contact Lesley Weiss (202-898-2500, LWeiss@ncsj.org). 

UPDATE: The full report is now available online at October2009DCStudentTrip.pdf

NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, founded in 1971, represents the organized American Jewish community in monitoring and advocating on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews living in the 15 successor states of the former Soviet Union.

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