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World Jewish News
Jewish Community of Baranovichi Visited by the Representatives of the Swiss Jews and the Union of Belarusian Jewish Organization
30.05.2009
The Union of Belarusian Jewish Public Associations and Communities has been working with the AJC organization for almost twenty years now. During this time, our Swiss friends have on many occasions provided invaluable assistance and support to the Jewish community of Belarus: helping the newspaper "Aviv", providing humanitarian aid, organizing numerous community events. In 1998 alone, the Belarusian Jewish community received medicines at a total
cost of more than 1 million Swiss francs. Managers of the partner organization Martina Frank and Monique Sauter received from the Department of Humanitarian Affairs at the Presidential Administration of Belarus the letters of gratitude for their contribution to the humanitarian activities of our republic.
Today, AJS and UBJOC are jointly implementing the programs "Children to children" (initiator and supervisor Galina Levina, UBJOC Advisor on Culture), which helps children of various physical abilities to join the life of the Jewish community through art; and "Small communities," thanks to the financial assistance of which 10 Jewish communities of the country are funded and provided an opportunity to develop.
"A very important part of our relationship is a sincere desire to help and respect for the community as a partner," emphasized Galina Levina at the meeting. "Swiss friends never introduce conditions and do not dictate how funds
should be distributed, but allow the community itself, without intermediaries, to decide in which direction to develop and which programs are of higher priority".
Every time the delegation of the Swiss Jewish community comes to Belarus, they visit the cities which received help, so that they can hear on-site about the needs of people, the problems, the new initiatives and to understand what else the AJS can do to help and to answer the questions of local Jews.
"Anti-Semitism as such does not exist in Switzerland," Lillian Bernstein explained, responding to questions from the host country. "Community functions on the high membership fees for each of the members, who also do not
forget about 10% of their income."
The meeting was characterized by a friendly atmosphere, despite the language barrier guests and hosts were able to chat over a cup of tea, then sing songs in Hebrew and Yiddish, which everybody understood without translation.
Many words of thanks were addressed to the head of the Jewish community of Baranovichi Raisa Goldstein, her great merit is that the members of the community, both secular and religious, are united in the realization of common
programs and solution of common problems.
Historical note
Like in most European countries, in the Middle Ages and in the new time, the life of Jews in Switzerland was connected with severe restrictions. Only under the influence of other countries, notably France and Britain, as well as the
United States, the state anti-Semitism in Switzerland was abolished. The Swiss authorities felt that the continued discrimination against Jews hurts trade relations with neighboring countries. Switzerland was the last of the European countries to begin building democratic societies, in 1866 it established the equal rights of Jews with all citizens, and since 1874 it also guaranteed them
cultural liberty. The number of Jews in Switzerland had not changed since the beginning of the century - today it is 18 thousand. The number of Orthodox Jewish worshipers is
only five per cent, i.e. less than a thousand people. The big problem for the Jews is assimilation. Half of the Jewish men and women of Switzerland are married to Christians.
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