NCSEJ Weekly News Update

2016/6/24 22:34:18

NCSEJ Deputy Director and Chair of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad Lesley Weiss traveled this week to Ukraine. In the Ukrainian town of Berehovo, Lesley spoke at a Holocaust memorial dedication, which was attended by representatives of the Hungarian and Ukrainian governments.

 


 

WASHINGTON, D.C. June 24, 2016
 

TO: NCSEJ Leadership and Interested Parties
 
FROM: Daniel Rubin, Chairman;
Alexander Smukler, President;
Mark B. Levin, Executive Vice-Chairman & CEO

 

Dear Friend,
 
I am currently in Vilnius, Lithuania participating in discussions on Jewish property restitution issues, as a Board member of the Goodwill Foundation. The Foundation is chaired by American Jewish Committee Director of International Jewish Affairs Rabbi Andrew Baker and head of the Lithuanian Jewish community Faina Kukliansky.
 
NCSEJ Deputy Director and Chair of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad Lesley Weiss traveled this week to Ukraine. In the Ukrainian town of Berehovo, Lesley spoke at a Holocaust memorial dedication, which was attended by representatives of the Hungarian and Ukrainian governments. She also traveled to Uzhgorod, where she met Michael Galin, director of the Uzhgorod Hesed Shpira. In addition, together with the Deputy Head of the Transcarpathian regional state administration Viktor Mikulin and Jewish community representatives, she visited a former synagogue that during Soviet times was converted into a concert hall. Issues discussed included a proposal to build a Jewish memorial and a museum of Transcarpathian Jewry to be housed in part of the former synagogue.
 
In Vilnius, Lithuania, authorities began dismantling a Soviet structure built from Jewish headstones in the 1960s. Mayor of Vilnius Remigijus Šimašius removed the first stone of the structure, which he called “a clear mark of disrespect.” He promised that the headstones will be moved to a new Jewish memorial, to be built by the government and the Jewish community.
 
Also this week, Lithuania’s parliament passed legislation that would simplify application for citizenship by Lithuanian (Litvak) Jews who fled the country prior to 1990. Prior to this decision, which awaits ratification by Lithuania’s President, many Jews who left Lithuania in the period between 1919 and 1940 and their descendants have been ineligible for citizenship.
 
Today the Russian parliament approved a set of “anti-terrorist laws” that introduce harsh restrictions on Russians suspected of extremist activities. Analysts have expressed concern that the new legislation will further stifle dissent and independent media in Russia.
 
The update includes an interesting story on the Jewish community center in Riga, Latvia, which runs successful programming for Jewish young adults.
 
Another article in the update gives an interesting insight into Azerbaijan’s all-Jewish town of Krasnaya Sloboda, where Mountain Jews have lived since the 18th century. The article details a profound transformation of the Krasnaya Sloboda since the Soviet Union’s dissolution.
 
I also want to highlight an op-ed by Ambassador John Herbst in which he expresses optimism about the new Ukrainian government led by Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, and recently undertaken government reforms of the energy sector and Ukraine’s judiciary.

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

Mark B. Levin
NCSEJ Executive Vice-Chairman & CEO

 

For access to all the news articles contained in this week’s update, link below:

https://d2zhgehghqjuwb.cloudfront.net/ ... 14721a4e0ce3ca5d1bf45.pdf

 

 

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