Israel Institute and Genesis Philanthropy Group partner to bring a course on modern Israel to Russia’s leading international studies university By Noa Levanon Klein Last month, representatives of the Israel Institute, Genesis Philanthropy Group, the Israeli embassy, and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) gathered to celebrate a successful run of the Russian university’s first-ever dedicated course on Israel. The … [Read more...] about Bringing Israel Studies to Russia
Life in the FSU Countries
Almost Like Returning Home
By Lev Gringauz There is a pit in Minsk, Belarus, that is simply called the Pit, or “Yama” in transliteration. It was where 5,000 Jews from the Minsk Ghetto, among them my family members, were murdered by Nazis. During the time of the Soviet Union, KGB officers were stationed there to make sure no Jews stopped to mourn. The memorial, then, only mentioned the deaths of Soviet citizens at the hands of the brutal fascist regime. My father and … [Read more...] about Almost Like Returning Home
Getting Back to my Roots
By Nikita Rotin When I turned 16, my father told me I was Jewish. This isn’t uncommon in Russia, where I was born and raised. Many people discover their Jewish roots later in life. But I just didn’t think I’d be one of them. I spent the next few weeks poring over family documents - birth certificates, passports, letters. They reaffirmed the story my father shared with me: my paternal grandfather was Jewish. I had no knowledge of … [Read more...] about Getting Back to my Roots
Babi Yar, L’cha Dodi, a Bat Mitzvah and Hatikvah
By Julia Malaga For nearly two years, I have had the honor to be a member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest New Jersey Peoplehood Project. This powerful living bridge program partners American Jews with Israeli Jews who experience each others’ worlds before experiencing a world completely foreign to all of them, the world of the Jews of Ukraine. After the journey to Ukraine, we returned to Israel together to celebrate Israel’s … [Read more...] about Babi Yar, L’cha Dodi, a Bat Mitzvah and Hatikvah
Record Breaking Number of Activities at Limmud FSU Moscow
Moscow’s Jewish community gathered this past weekend for the annual festival for Russian-speaking Jews. About 2,000 participants attended Limmud FSU’s 12th conference in Moscow, April 19-22, 2018. The program included more than 250 sessions on a broad range of topics, and also - for the first time - a complete program for children, with multiple activities each hour, for 2 different age groups. In total, the conference included more than … [Read more...] about Record Breaking Number of Activities at Limmud FSU Moscow
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