by Professor Michael Chlenov
At the end of February, a scheduled session of the JAFI Trustee Council took place in Jerusalem. This session can be legitimately called revolutionary, as it presented a program of reforms developed by the team of JAFI chairman Natan Sharansky. Its ideology was presented by JAFI second-in command – its CEO and President himself, Misha Galperin – also a native of the USSR, who had an astoundingly quick career in the system of American Jewish federations.
According to its new concept, JAFI will now concentrate its attention not only on aliya, but on the development and support of the Jewish identity. The reformers are planning to give special attention to Russian-speaking Jews who are scattered throughout many different countries – Israel, the USA, Germany, Canada, Australia, and, of course, the former Soviet Union itself. As Galperin stated, “The time has to come to view the special form of national and ethnic identity of Russian-speaking Jews not as weakness or ignorance, but as strength!”
Indeed, this was the first time the international Jewish community had ever heard such words. For the last twenty years, the Zionist movement, as well as Israelis and the Western Diaspora in general, tended to view Russian Jews as a sort of “lost tribe,” isolated from Jewry as a whole and devoid of any roots. The Soviet Jews were to be taught what Jewry is and helped to assimilate quickly in a new Jewish environment. Yet, as we know, this process turned out to be rather difficult, and the greatest obstacle to this quick assimilation was that very particular Jewish self-awareness, based not on religion as the basic divisive element, but on an awareness of being a people and a national community.
And now those same Jewish leaders, carriers of that same worldview, have proclaimed the value of the national self-awareness of Russian Jews!
Naturally, we applaud this new ideology. But these is a serious organizational and administrative reform behind it, and, as always, a search for finances necessary for its realization. The latest session, even though it was somewhat flabbergasted by the innovations proposed, nonetheless voted to close all of the big JAFI departments that have existed since a time out of mind, the entire bureaucratic bastion of this structure: the aliya, education, and partnership with Israel departments. Instead, new departments will be made for separate projects, including a new super-department for Russian Jewry throughout the world.
It is supposed that JAFI is the only organization which can consolidate Russian Jewry and integrate it into world Jewry as a specific part of the Jewish people, and not as a dispersed crowd of individuals duped by the Soviets.
The idea in itself is not new. VAAD USSR attempted such a program as early as the beginning of the 1990s, but failed – it was far too early. The very same Sharansky and Galperin made another attempt around ten years ago, and failed as well. Then, 2003 saw the formation of the World Congress of Russian-speaking Jewry, headed today by Russian senator Boris Shpigel. But there does not seem to be much progress there, either – the organization is now focusing its attention on combating manifestations of Nazism in the Baltic states. A great part of this task is being done by the EAJC, which unites Russian-speaking Jews in the CIS. And, finally, there are quite a few organizations besides JAFI that also lay claim to worldwide activity – for example, the World Jewish Congress. JAFI has always had a different mission – a mission of Zionism, of collecting the diasporas.
We believe the main goal of JAFI today is to be a bridge between the Diaspora and Israel, to bring everything and anything Israel to the aged Jewish communities in different parts of the world. This is a task that no one else can do, and should become JAFI’s main task. JAFI should try to restore its severely tarnished reputation, restore the educational programs, devote serious time to Hebrew studies, bring information about Israel to our communities, and organize programs that will allow our Jews to visit Israel, to see and feel Israel.
We will see within the next few years whether the JAFI leadership will have been able to not only restore its lost potential, but to serve as a center of consolidation for Russian-speaking Diaspora Jews. This will largely depend on whether the JAFI leadership will be able to convince American sponsors that their task is truly nonlocal, but important to all Jews. Much will also depend on whether JAFI will be able to integrate the leaders of Russian-speaking Jews into its own structures. Right now CIS Jews are largely absent even from regular work, let alone from the leadership, of this large and important Jewish organization.
Professor Michael Chlenov is Secretary-General of Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.
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As I understand it, AGAIN the Jewish Agency ignores Israel. More than 75% of youth in Israel have no idea what JAFI is, let alone why they should care about it.
Another direction? feh. I call it self interest.
Joe is right on. Not only do our Jewish youth in Israel (and in truth many adults)not know about JAFI many of them also don’t know much about being Jewish.
I work for a unique Israeli nonprofit involved with providing the visually impaired with unique life changing programs. We are the only group to do so. I recently approached JAFI to see if we could apply for a grant but was turned down. We don’t qualify. So much for their true interests. And yes, they once took a percentage from a donation that we were sent from a donor in the USA. We made sure not to use that route a second time.
Real integration always involves the challenging, indeed unpleasant, topic of sharing resources, such as jobs and funding, between the haves and the have-nots – whether it’s the integration of post-communist countries into the European Union, or the integration of Russian Jews into the American Jewish community. Existing (pre-recession) surveys show that most Russian-Jewish immigrants live in poverty and are disadvantaged in employment and pay – in spite (or because?) of their on the whole higher levels of education than those of American Jews. In most Jewish communal organizations (JAFI, being led by a Russian, is an exception) immigrant professionals are always the first to be dismissed (esp. for some reason if they have more education and experience and work harder than the natives) and almost never allowed to rise through the ranks. This has a crippling effect on the lives of the younger immigrant nonprofit workers in particular. Likewise, Russian-Jewish grassroots communal organizations are being denied funding that would provide opportunities for immigrant nonprofit talents, while large Jewish funders often support the more affluent non-Jewish immigrant organizations. This is a sad legacy of a long history of exclusion of East European Jews by German Jews, and it’s time for a deep communal conversation about transcending it, if we really care about shared peoplehood, integration, and the pursuit of justice – which we Jews should begin among ourselves.
I made aliya 8 month ago, and and I am really very surprise that the majority of the people that works in the offices of klita are Russian olim, at least the offices in Ramle, Modiin and Jerusalem. I think that the ones that really wanted to melt into the israeli society made it, they learned Hebrew, and the integrate to the working force. I think that if JAFI is interested in reinforce Jewish education and identity they should open their spectrum and look what is going on with Jewish communities like Argentina, Mexico, some communities in Europe, that the percentage of assimilation is growing every day. And to start worrying about the Israelis and their Jewishness.
Joe and Idealist –
The Jewish Agency has not abandoned Israel. Of it’s $325 million budget, over $250 million goes to Israel. It focuses on youth at risk in the periphery and at risk immigrant populations through projects such as Youth Futures, Net@, Atidim and Young Communities (idealist volunteers they place to live and impact failing communities).
They care for the elderly and Holocaust survivors living below the poverty line through La’ad program and Amigour housing. JAFI is the emergency response non profit in Israel as was seen during the carmel fires when they brought families to safe zones and gave grants to children and families of those killed.
They also run the Spirit of Israel campaign headed by Tal Brody which engages Israeli philanthropists in Israel and are working on a rebranding image with Israeli society so their role and importance in society is understood by Israelis. They are also the main funders of the reform and conservative movements in Israel as religous pluralism is a priority and the funders and runners of Nativ which allows the 25% of soldiers in the IDF who are not recognized as jewish by the chief rabbinate a way to convert hallachically through their service.
There is so much they do in Israel and around the world – I am an active supporter obviously. I encourage you to view their website at http://www.jafi.org.
I would also mention idealist – their budget was $500 million around 2002. It’s $325 now. they just had $40 million in budget cuts. You were denied not because your cause isn’t worthy – but because they are closing down their own programs due to budget shortfalls as we write.
Events, if the strategy is a step forward, it is still a step late…
They very understood the importance of dealing with Jewish Identity, but, in my mind they didn’t provide yet the right narrative, the rights path…
I’m Confident in their ability tov move as their leadership seems smart and determinated…
/Israe
What does he mean by the “aged Jewish communities” – this is very confusing. Does he mean that the Diaspora communities existed before the State of Israel? Does he mean that the main goal is enhancing the Jewish identity of Jewish seniors? Does he think that Israelis, who don’t believe in pluralism in Judaism and many of whom have weak Jewish identities themselves will teach American Jews about Jewish identity? JAFI was a temporary government before the State. It is an anachronism and should simply be abolished. The Joint Distribution Committee should deal with Jews who need physical help around the world. As to educational, spiritual, and identity development let that emanate naturally from between Israel and Diaspora institutions and religious movements without JAFI as an intervening body. Then the Chief Rabbinate should be abolished in Israel and we will begin to make some progress in these areas.