For those working in, or with Israel's Russian-speaking young adult community, the new place to be seen is the Fishka House in South Tel Aviv. Here, on the 3rd night of Chanukah, an overflowing group of participants, funder representatives and other supporters, were on hand for a candle-lighting and dedication of their new home, complete with good conversation, good food, and musical and theatrical entertainment. Fishka, a community-based organization, programs to a Russian-speaking young adult population through cultural programs, including cinema, music and theater projects, poetry workshops, volunteer initiatives working with south Tel Aviv senior citizens and more. They have recently launched a number of new projects including Laboratoria - a place to pilot projects which impact … Continue Reading
Hanukkah Lights Illuminate A Submerged Jewish Identity
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Boston, December 23, 2011 - In some respects, it’s just amazing that this Hanukkah party took place at all. On a recent afternoon in a daycare center in suburban Chestnut Hill, just west of here, preschoolers gathered with parents and grandparents to watch Hanukkah skits, don Maccabee-like costumes, sing holiday songs, and indulge in hot latkes and sticky jelly donuts. Ordinary, but only up to a point. A thick Russian accent here. Tales of anti-Semitism there. A tentative step toward Judaism by one. A full embrace by another. Boston or Newton or Chestnut Hill vs. Kiev or Moscow or Baku. “For many in the older generations, being Jewish was something to hide,” said Larisa Bankovsky, owner of the daycare where the holiday festivities unfolded. “My family … Continue Reading
Hefzibah and Tel Am Leaders Visit Dnepropetrovsk School
Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine - The Levi Yitzchak Schneerson Day School in Dnepropetrovsk, which is part of the Ohr Avner Chabad educational network, hosted a visit by the heads of the Israeli “Hefzibah” and “Tel Am” educational programs in the CIS and Baltic countries. Under the “Hefzibah” program, Israeli teachers are invited to Jewish schools outside of Israel to improve the quality of teaching of the Hebrew language, as well as aiding in the formation of students' Jewish identity. The “Tel Am” program is for the in-depth study of Hebrew and Judaism for elementary grade students according to a unique methodology developed in Canada. “Tel Am” offers teacher training, methodological support, provides classes with visual aids, teaching materials, as well as workbooks and other … Continue Reading
Moishe House Expanding to ‘Mecca for Young Adults,’ Bolstering its International Framework
by Michele Alperin JointMedia News Service A phenomenon rapidly expanding from its California roots, Moishe House - which provides rent and programming subsidies to Jewish 20-and 30-somethings whose homes and apartments become community hubs for their peers - will soon open its first houses in New York City and a London-based support and training office for international residences. Four New York locations will bring the program, now in its sixth year, to a total of 40 houses in 14 countries. “In many ways New York is, certainly in the U.S., a center of Jewish life and also a mecca for young adults to move there after college,” says Moishe House Founder David Cygielman, who was in New York this week meeting with applicants. “They are hoping to have a Jewish life and Moishe House … Continue Reading
Russian-Jewish Canadian Camp Program is a Success
Ninety teenagers from Russian-speaking Jewish families in the Toronto area spent last week at Camp Gesher, located on Skootamata Lake, Ontario, attending J.Academy Camp. Operating for the second summer, J. Academy is the only sleepover camp program in Canada that is specifically geared to teens from Russian-speaking background families. Through a variety of informal educational and recreational experiences, the program encourages participants to explore their roots and to discover their place in Jewish civilization through the artistic prism. J. Academy offers its participants five areas of specialization: theater, dance, journalism, design and marketing. For the majority of the participants, J. Academy is their first experience with the culture of North American Jewish camps and with Jewish … Continue Reading
International Family Summer Camps in Israel Attract Diverse Participants
Every August since 2003, Yahalom has conducted Family Summer Camps (FSC) in Jerusalem for mixed groups of FSU immigrant and non-immigrant families living in outlying areas in Israel. This summer, several hundred came together for six days of experiential learning about Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Yahalom believes their model for an International FSC in Israel for Russian-speaking Jews can become a defining Jewish experience for thousands of Rusian-speaking Jewish families in Russia, Ukraine, New York and Germany. After spending a week together in Israel where every activity is designed to strengthen their Russian Jewish identity and to provide the parents with fresh ideas about what Jewish identity they wish to transmit to their children, they return home, like the … Continue Reading
An Un-Orthodox Israeli Wedding
This past Monday night, Tu B'Av Eve (the Israeli Valentine's Day), a young couple's public wedding ceremony was held in Tel Aviv's Gan Ha'hashmal. Unlike other couples who were working painstakingly on their guest list, Inna and Pavel decided to invite all Tel Aviv residents to be guests at their wedding. Background: Inna Zyskind and Pavel Kogan have been living together for three years and raising their 8 months old daughter, Nea. He was born in Moscow, she in St. Petersburg. Previously Pavel worked in high-tech and Inna was a journalist. Today they are developing together an online project - Hinamis. The circumstances that led the couple to this public wedding are far from being joyous - Inna and Pavel are among approximately 300,000 Israelis who are the recipients of the insulting … Continue Reading
Russian Speaking Youth Attend Camp in Israel
For the second year, the Jewish Agency and the Genesis Philanthropy Group are running 2 international camps for Russian-speaking youth here in Israel. The project, initiated by Natan Sharansky, is called 'Rimon', and brings together 240 youths aged 13-17 from the FSU, the U.S. and Israel for two week camp programs being held at the Givat Haviva educational campus near Hadera and Kibbutz Nordiya. The goal of the camp programs is to strengthen the campers' Jewish identity and connection to Israel. The camps include trips around the country, meetings with Israeli cultural figures, and workshops on theater, photography, and communications - all with a theme of exploring and strengthening Jewish identity. According to Rina Gerber, manager of the Ma.com program taking place at Nordiya, “Our … Continue Reading
Jewish Camping Builds Community Across Europe, Israel and the FSU
It's summertime, and Jewish camping is in full swing around the world. Not only in North America, but in Europe, Israel and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Beginning today, eJewish Philanthropy will look at a number of programs being run with assistance from (alphabetically) Genesis Philanthropy Group, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, JDC, the Jewish Agency and UJA Federation-NY. We begin today with stories of JDC camps in Belarus. For Natalia, a 5-year-old from Belarus, and nearly 15,000 Jewish children and their families, this summer will be filled with memorable celebrations of Jewish life and identity. In more than 130 family and youth retreats and Shabbat weekends across 20 countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the American Jewish Joint … Continue Reading
PJ Library Takes Hold in the Big Apple
With more than 6,000 families in the New York area receiving PJ Library’s free Jewish children’s books, Harold Grinspoon - the Library's founder and benefactor - will deliver the Library’s two millionth book to a family in New York City today. PJ Library's New York footprint extends across every borough, north into Westchester County, and out onto Long Island - including reaching homes in the Hamptons. In its ongoing expansion, the program is bringing together families amid a diverse Jewish community in New York. An important part of the New York outreach effort is to the city’s large community of Russian-speaking Jewish families - many of whom do not have a connection to Jewish institutional life. It is well-known that Russian-speaking Jews, who comprise about 20-25% percent of the … Continue Reading
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