RJC Monitor - 10.10.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress

RJC and ORT Discuss Work Plans

Cooperation with Russian Jewish organizations was discussed October 8 at the RJC offices during the visit of the new head of the Moscow office of the World ORT Organization, Mr. Avi Ganon.

Mr. Ganon, who was appointed to this position after a tour of duty in Russia as a member of the Israeli diplomatic mission, has good working relationships with leaders of the Russian Jewish community.

The World ORT had its beginnings in Russia more than 120 years ago. It came back to former Soviet territory in the wake of perestroika to firmly establish its presence: the ORT school system in Russia is one of the three Jewish educational systems and the only one that is secular. The Russian Jewish Congress has been ORT’s partner in building this system for several years now, providing computer equipment to the ORT-run schools.

Israeli Minister Talks About Jewish Education

A meeting between representatives of the Russian Jewish community and members of the visiting delegation of the Israeli Ministry of Culture, Education and Sport, took place October 9 at Moscow Choral Synagogue. The Israeli delegation, led by Minister Limor Livnat, arrived in Moscow at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in connection with the Moscow tour of the Israeli Gesher Theater.

Taking part in the meeting on the Russian side were RJC President Satanovsky; Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt; Leopold Kaimovsky, executive vice-president of the Moscow Jewish community; Anatoli Pinsky, chairman of the board of the Federation of Orthodox Jews of Russia; and Nikolai Propirny, editor-in-chief of the Jewish News newspaper. Minister Livnat was accompanied by Yohanan Ben-Jakov, head of the Heftsiba Project who is monitoring formal Jewish education in the NIS and the Baltic region. The Israeli Ambassador to Russia, Mr. Arkady Mil-Man, also took part in the meeting.

In discussing prospects of cooperation between Israeli and Russian educators and government agencies, the participants touched upon such issues as the retraining of teachers for Russian Jewish schools and the possibilities to support national schools in Russian territory with funds from the Israeli state budget. Other items on the agenda were possible changes in Israeli educational policy, including the reduction of teachers sent from Israel and their substitution with educators trained in Russia, and the preparation of textbooks and curricula for the Jewish educational establishments in Russia that would differ from the standard Zionist models and include information about events that occurred in the Jewish world at the turn of the 20th century.

Following the tradition of the Likud Party, Minister Livnat voiced his firm belief that--despite the attachment of some of them to life in the Diapsora--all Jews should be living in Israel. This articulation met with polite smiles of his hosts, after which the discussion of mutual programs continued.