Jewish educational projects in the former Soviet Union countries

The Genesis Philanthropy group will invest up to 6 million dollars over the next 3-4 years into programs with the Jewish Agency for Jewish educational projects in Russia and other former Soviet Union countries.

The Jewish Agency for Israel and the Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG) have reached a general agreement on widening the scope of mutual cooperation in the field of Jewish education and in the strengthening of Jewish identity of Russian-speaking Jews, a spokesman for the Jewish Agency for Israel said.

The agreement was signed during the recent visit in Moscow of the Jewish agency’s new chairman, Natan Sharansky.

The cooperation includes support of Jewish schools, summer camps, and other projects.

GPG will also help the Jewish Agency in evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of the projects operated by the Jewish Agency in the former Soviet Union.

Sharansky welcomed the fact that today the representatives of Russia's Jewish community are more and more involved in building Jewish institutions in Russia and are doing their utmost to strengthen the Jewish identity of Russian-speaking Jews around the world.

"Over the last years the Jewish Agency has been active in working on the return of hundreds of thousands of Jews to their historical roots and the strengthening of Jewish identity,” he added.

http://www.ejpress.org/article/38901