NCSJ - 12.08.2006

NCSJ Elects New Chairman, President

Ed Robin and Lesley Israel Become New NCSJ Leaders

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Edward B. Robin, of Los Angeles was elected NCSJ Chairman, and Lesley Israel of Washington, D.C. was elected NCSJ President when the NCSJ Board of Governors met in Washington on December 5, 2006.

Ed Robin, an attorney, is Chairman of NAS Insurance Services. He is a long-time supporter of and activist in the Soviet Jewry movement, having served as Vice-Chairman of NCSJ. He has a record of leadership in the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles as a former Chairman of its Israel and Overseas Committee. He was Chair of the UJA National Young Leadership Cabinet and was on the board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. He has served as Vice-Chair of the United Jewish Fund and is active in many other local and national organizations. Mr. Robin is also a founder of the North American Jewish Forum

Lesley Israel is a professional political consultant, who formerly served as President and CEO of Politics, Inc., and as Senior Vice President and Director of the Kamber Group. She serves as Treasurer of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), and has observed and worked as an expert for democratic elections in over a dozen countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia. She is Assistant Secretary of the Anti-Defamation League and a member of the ADL National Executive Committee. She is also a former President of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington and has served as Vice-President of NCSJ since 2002.

“NCSJ has the distinction of being one of the most successful organizations in American Jewish history in achieving its original objectives: in this case, the emigration of millions of Jews from the former Soviet Union,” stated Ed Robin. “It is a great honor for me to be selected as Chairman of NCSJ, at a time when we face the challenges of fighting anti-Semitism, the restitution of communal property, strengthening the relationship between these countries and Israel, and continued advocacy on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews who remain in the FSU.”

“As we continue to focus on Jewish renewal and security in the FSU, NCSJ’s mission is more critical than ever. I look forward to continuing the important work of promoting Jewish life in a region where Jews were denied their heritage for generations,” said Lesley Israel.

In congratulating Ed Robin and Lesley Israel, outgoing NCSJ Chairman Dr. Robert J. Meth said, “We can all be confident that NCSJ is in very good hands, because both Ed and Lesley have already demonstrated their dedication, service and understanding of our issues.”

For more information or to arrange for photographs of or interviews with the new NCSJ lay leaders, please email NCSJ or call 202-898-2500

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.