Cash Crunch Hits FSU Jewish Programs

Haviv Rettig writing in this morning’s Jerusalem Post:

Jewish education programs in the former Soviet Union are in danger of collapse as Israel government funding dries up and the global economic crisis threatens its main donors.

The most at-risk institution is the Heftsiba project, an Israeli government-funded program in 45 schools that provides funds, curricula and teachers from Israel for Jewish and Zionist education.

Some 10,000 children in Russia and Ukraine participate in the program, but senior officials in the Education Ministry cannot say how long that will continue…

Another program feeling the pressure of massive
Jewish Agency budget cuts is Na’aleh, which brings some 1,200 young
FSU Jews to Israel each year, a majority of whom end up making aliya.

Here’s the complete article, Cash crunch hits FSU Jewish programs.