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Where Your UJA Federation Campai! n Dollars Go!
IS THE ALIYAH OVER? No, the aliyah
continues.The first direct flight left Yekaterin-
burg for Israel in 1995. Since then, 3,378
Jews from around the region have started
new lives in Israel. In 1997 alone, 62 Jews
from Yekaterinburg made aliyah; 100 Jewish
families attended four weekend aliyah prepa-
ration seminars. Others participated in an
ongoing Family Aliyah Club. 130 young Jews
took part in eight "Limukiya" classes that
prepared them for study programs in Israel.
40 parents of teenagers and young adults
already in Israel programs attended special
classes to prepare them for their own aliyah.
And as you read this, 800 students from
Yekaterinburg and the surrounding area are
studying with 15 locally trained teachers at
Hebrew-language ulpans. Last year, ten of the
city's teachers made aliyah. All these pro-
grams are designed to promote aliyah.AII the
counselors are trained by your dollars. All
the programs are supported with your
gift to the UJA/Federation Campaign.
THE ELDERLY. Yekaterinburg's Jewish
welfare programs, the Menora fund, was
transformed into the Hesed Menora Center
on November 24, 1997.The center is quickly
becoming a hub of Jewish activity and provid-
ing life-saving services to hundreds of needy
Jewish elderly who can barely subsist on
meager pensions. The Menora fund
served 220 elderly Jews; the new Hesed
has the capacity to serve ten times
that.
THE COMMUNITY. Yekaterinburg
and the Ural region are served by eight Jew-
ish camp sessions in the summer; a Jewish
youth club serves the city year-round. A
UJA/Federation supported newsletter keeps
Jewish community members informed about
local Jewish activities, while bringing news
from young people studying in Israel and the
latest information about aliyah and Israel.
A Campaign-supported Jewish Studies
Center at the Ural State University draws
hundreds of visitors every year; a Hillel pro-
gram is getting underway.Yekaterinburg Jews
attend two Jewish Sunday schools; one Jewish
Children's Center that is open two Sundays
each month; a kindergarten, a community
center; and a Jewish Culture Society club,
which offers lectures and movies on Yid-
dishkeit
Your increased gift to the UJA Fed-
eration Campaign would allow us to
promote aliyah more; and to build a
stronger Jewish identity in the commu-
nities of the former Soviet Union.
r. Nehamkin, 43, his wife Sima, their 14-year-old daughter Paulina and Sima's father Leb
:lb, 84, were among two dozen new immigrants aboard the recent Ural Airlines flight 3721 from
Dr. Nehamkin is a psychiatrist."Although there are a lot of new immigrant physicians
reaching Israel, there are not so many psychiatrists.And, not surprisingly, there are psychological strains that
come with aliyah. Our family had hope that we would have a brighter and Jess anti-Semitic future in Rus-
sia, but crime and corruption are increasing and the economy is deteriorating.We want Paulina to learn
about Jewish culture and to have a better education.The aliyah is hard for all of us, especially Paulina and
my father-in-law, who lost his whole family in the Holocaust, but we are all looking ahead and we are
confident we will succeed?
U]A Fec)eration Campaign in /ormer Soviet Union
Yekaterinbur& on the banks of the Iset
River in the Ural Mountains, has a pop-
ulacion of more than 1.5 million, with
some 15,000 Jews.
Founded in 1723 as a natural out-
growth of the iron smelting works
established there by Russian Czar Peter
the Great, the city quickly became
Peter's "Window to Asia" and the urban
center of the Ural and Siberian reons.
In the 1800s, Yekatertnbur& capitalizing
on its vast mineral resources, led Cen-
tral Russia into the new industrial
A few decades later, Yekaterlnburg
would capture the attention of the
world. During the October Revolution,
the Czar and his family were impris-
oned and later killed there. In 1924,
Lenin changed the name of the city to
Sverdlovsk, after a famous Jewish hero
of the Revolution.
Thousands of jews throughout the
Soviet Union were evacuated to the
Urals duringWorid War 11; many stayed
in the area's growing miiry industrial
complex. (In fact, after the war, the city
was closed to itors because of "the
secret nature of the local industry.")
Jews living in Yekaterinburg today are
themselves remnants of that evacua-
tions, or are its descendants.
In the 1970s, Boris Yeltsin was the
city's First Secretary.
The name Yekaterinburg was
restored in 1992 and today, despe Its
harsh and unstable clima it is a thriv-
ing industrial metropolis ... with com-
mercial contacts with companies
d the United States, as well as
a number of trade alreements with
Israel, some nelotbted as recendy as
November 1997.The city, which is sur-
rounded by lush forests and clear blue
lakes, enjoys a rich cultural life and, as a
rqtionai capitaYdcaterintm is home
to the Ural Ste Un, 15 insdtu-
tkal of Igher educatn and 40 tech-
nical schools.
No One
Gift
Closer to Home
By Mark L. GoldsteJn
Executive Vice President
his is not about my recent travels to Israel
evaluating significant program priorities of the
Jewish Agency. Nor is this about a whirlwind 36
hour visit I made to Minsk with Federation President
David Brand during which we met with elderly
pensioners who rely on our philanthropy for their regular
deliveries of food packages. Actually, this is about a
recent visit I made to New Orleans and all I learned
about Tidewater, albeit nearly 2,000 miles away.
Under the auspices of the Council of Jewish
Mark L. Goldstein Federations, our national "association," I was in New
Orleans for a Conference of Jewish Federation Executive Directors. These
gatherings are a marvelous opportunity to network and consult with other
federation executives, exchange information, share solutions, and
contemplate trends in philanthropy and Jewish community priorities.
Typically, executives come to these conferences looking for answers to
key issues in their communities. During the sessions, meals, and breaks, we
share experiences seeking the collective wisdom of our colleagues and
national leadership and consultants. Each year at these conferences I grow
more appreciative of the strengths of our Tidewater Jewish Community.
Some communities are struggling with an agency system which is out of
control. Not in Tidewater. Our Jewish communal agencies work
cooperatively. Jewish Family Service and the Hebrew Academy have a
special cooperative program for school counseling. The Jewish Community
Center and JFS are expanding their partnership on serving Jews with special
needs in the summer day camp. All Jewish educators and teachers work with
the Federation's Jewish Educatiop Council on teacher training and
professional development. The words "turf" and "competition" are not used
when we describe our agency system.
This does not stop with our agencies. Our Federation enjoys a very
strong, positive relationship with synagogue leadership and the Hampton
Roads Board of Rabbis. In times of crises and tragedy, our Federation
promotes synagogue attendance as an effective way for our community to
become expressive. The Jewish Education Council's Teen Study Program is
fully supported by all congregations and welcomes the input of the Hampton
Roads Board of Rabbis. Every synagogue has joined the Israel at 50
Consortium and participates in the Simon Family Passport to Israel program.
Other communities are envious of these relationships.
While some community executives complain about the widening gulf
between the "Jewish right" and the "Jewish left," we have fine examples of
cooperation and respect in Tidewater. The mikve, housed at B'nai Israel, is
open to all rabbis for ritual use. At the Hebrew Academy, the philosophy of a
"community" school is extolled in the open dialogue and discussion by the
board and its committees always finding appropriate compromise to enable
the comfort level of all Jews. Attend the annual Chumash or Siddur
presentations and see Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbis proudly
participating. Rabbis in Tidewater talk to each other, certainly not without
disagreements, but never without respect.
We all had the same concerns about our campaigns and fundraising: there
is never enough funds to meet all the needs. But Tidewater's experience is,
here again, unique. During the last five years our annual campaign has
grown from $2.9 million to approximately $3.6 million. Our Tidewater
Jewish Foundation has seen its assets grow from $9 million to nearly $40
million. Our community is fortunate to have a strong cadre of volunteers and
professionals dedicated to growing our collective fundraising efforts. Our
Foundation has achieved true "community foundation" status welcoming
nearly every synagogue and agency under its structure. We set politics and
turf aside and focus on the real issues: the recipients of the services who
ultimately benefit from our philanthropy.
In other cities, agencies are being slaughtered by the fierce competition in
the health care arena. It is no less competitive in Tidewater, but our agencies
CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
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