by Valerie Khaytina Early nineties. We are on the train from Kiev to Moscow for the biggest event of my life - an interview in the American embassy to go to the United States. We have to prove that we were persecuted as Jews in order to get into the country as refugees. This is not difficult to do. I remember all the names my classmates call me just because I’m Jewish. The bomb in Brodsky synagogue that was discovered shortly after my dad and I have left the place. The swastika by our apartment door. Grandma says not to pay attention to it. Long lines in the U.S. embassy. Families are anxiously waiting to get in. We are interviewed by a woman with a heavy American accent. Waiting again outside the embassy until the results are out. My family has been given the refugee status. We … Continue Reading
Summer Camp Time in the FSU
For nearly two decades, the Jewish Agency's network of summer and winter camps in the former Soviet Union have reached tens of thousands of children, teens, university-age students and their families, connecting them to their heritage, Israel and the Jewish people. The week-long summer camps, which operate in over 14 cities and towns, immerse campers in a week of Jewish life, learning and culture. This year they will operate in 14 different locations throughout the FSU serving approximately 5000 youth between 7 and 17. At the Moscow camp, 'Dialogue' was the theme. A total of 130 campers participated in a multitude of lively 'dialogues'; with themselves, between the generations, with Israel, and with Jewish Communities around the world. Here's what Marina, one of the Israeli counselors, had to … Continue Reading
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