Euroasian Jewish News

Former building of the EAJC Moscow Office

The Moscow office of the EAJC is closed

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is both symbolic and sad that in the eve of Purim, the holiday that symbolizes the fight for the survival of the Jewish nation, we, the Moscow office of the EAJC have to inform you that we are leaving our premises at the Frunzenskaya embankment that we all loved so much. It is distressing to realize that we are being forced out not by some evil forces but by the Executive Administration of the Congress.

Quite recently, six months earlier we were quite hopeful that there will be positive changes and the revival of the activities of the Congress. The Moscow office of the EAJC worked out a new structure of the Congress and proposed a new Charter. Later, all of us worked on it at the General Assembly. It turned out that our efforts were in vain. We turned over the EAJC news Facebook page to the Administration in Israel. What has become of it? Why are we reading some other news rather than ours compiled from the citations from other sources? The only important news there was about Mr. Aaron Frenkel who became the Vice-President of the World Jewish Congress. However, we found out that his main achievement was not the fact that he supported Jewish communities and projects in the region, and not that he is the President of the Limud CIS, one of the most interesting Jewish organizations in the region, but that he received a Friendship Medal from Vladimir Putin.

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress had been a strong and influential diplomatic organ for many years. It worked to fully represent the Jewry of the region in international organizations and in the World Jewish Congress. March 18-20, the WJC is organizing a special mission dedicated to the 70 years anniversary of the State of Israel. Needless to explain, that this event is important and dear to us. Unfortunately, for the first time in the Congress existence we are unable to send a delegation that will represent the Congress on a due level.

What can be added to the above-mentioned? The Chairman of the Program Commission of the EAJC, recently, noted in his letter that in the civilized society it is common to respect the work of people. It can be added that it is, especially, necessary to respect others’ work, if you are using the results that they have produced.

However, there are good news. We know that Purim is a holiday of the demonstration of the living strength of the Jewish people. Therefore, I believe that the fact that the Moscow office is being left without a working space will lead to its modernization. I hope that now we will become the most modern Jewish office without office that works in co-working with the use of gadgets.

Our mobile phones and e-mail addresses remain as they were before.

Wishing you all Happy Purim!

Natasha Shmidt

Director of the EAJC Moscow Office