As we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Free Soviet Jewry movement, we also celebrate the great miracle of Jewish renewal in that same region. Those who have chosen to stay in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan are experiencing a resurgence of Jewish life that was not even dreamed of 40 years ago. Project Kesher is proud to have been at the forefront of this renewal.
It has been a very busy week for us at Project Kesher, and it has only just begun! We have two events scheduled in NYC tomorrow, we started a blog, and kickoff of our 16-Days to End Domestic Violence programming in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)! In addition, we have launched a critical end of year appeal and we are underway with planning our annual NYC fundraiser (to be held April 10, 2008 at the TimesCenter – Save the Date)! We hardly have had a chance to catch our breath! (In addition, we’re so excited that we’re finding it difficult not to end our sentences with an exclamation point.) Thank you to all who have responded so far to our end of year appeal. Your contribution makes a difference in the lives of thousands of women and their communities in the CIS and is greatly appreciated.
In the CIS, our new anti-trafficking activism is underway. In Tambov, Russia, Project Kesher activists are implementing a project using US Embassy funding. In cooperation with the local Catholic Church, they convened the first meeting of families of trafficked women. Almost 80 people attended including the families of two women who were killed after traveling abroad. The goals of the meeting were to form a support network, link families to the anti-trafficking movement worldwide with the hope that they can re-connect with trafficked family members and encourage activism around the issue. As you may know, Project Kesher’s work in this area extends well beyond the Jewish community but, for the first time, we learned of documented instances where Jewish women were trafficked. We have been asked repeatedly whether Jewish women are trafficked. Now we know… We are concerned that it will turn out that, like domestic violence, trafficking in women is occurring in the Jewish community but few people talk about it.
Sixteen days against violence against women, the annual campaign organized out of Rutgers University began this week. Several of our activists went out and bought (with their own funds) DVD’s to make copies of a powerful anti-trafficking film, Lilya 4 Ever. Reports of this activism will start arriving shortly.
Project Kesher has received its first official consulting job. We have been hired by the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar, to teach four workshops at an upcoming retreat for women in the region.
Svetlana Yakimenko, Project Kesher's CIS Director, reports that two of our local groups have gotten tolerance grants from the government. In Tver, the Project Kesher group is working on a local tolerance initiative. In Kharkov and Kursk, our groups are working on a tolerance initiative that focuses on issues along the Russia/Ukraine border.
In the USA, we are also hosting two events today in NYC:
This morning, Project Kesher will be holding a breakfast briefing featuring our Executive Director, Karyn Gershon. And this evening there will be a Project Kesher Program and Study Session with Rabbi Joy Levitt at 7:30pm at the JCC in Manhattan focusing on Hannukah and Other Miracles.
For more details on these or any other events, please e-mail Shannon at shannon@projectkesher.org.
Please mark your calendars for our annual NYC fundraiser on April 10th at the Times Center. We will be sending out invitations shortly after the first of the year. Stay tuned!
