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Jewish community income: How is it being affected by the pandemic?
Author(s): Graham, David; Boyd, Jonathan; Lessof, Carli
Date: 2021
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Charity / Tzedakah, Economy, Coronavirus/Covid
Abstract: As soon as the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic became evident, concern began to be expressed in the Jewish community about how its effects might damage aspects of Jewish life. Our July 2020 survey of Jews across the UK was designed to investigate some of these effects and bring some data into policy discussion about the future of the community. Part of that discussion involves community income, and specifically whether Jews will feel able to donate to charities in the ways they have previously, or if they will continue to pay membership fees to synagogues or make voluntary contributions to cover the Jewish studies programmes, security and other supplementary activities in Jewish schools. This paper looks at these issues first by examining respondents’ giving behaviours in 2019, and comparing them to their actual or expected behaviours during the first few months of the pandemic. It finds that, as of July 2020, its effects were found to be rather limited – while charitable giving, synagogue membership fees and voluntary contributions to schools were all expected to take a hit, a strong majority indicated no change in their giving behaviour at this time. Moreover, there are some indications that a shift has taken place in people’s tendency towards giving to Jewish charities over general ones. Whether this is part of a longer-term trend or simply a response to the pandemic is unclear. The study then investigates those who said they were planning to make a ‘negative switch’ in their giving behaviour, to explore the extent to which that change was due to economic factors caused by the pandemic, or two alternative possibilities: their economic situation prior to it, or the strength/weakness of their Jewish identity. It finds that changes in behaviour are heavily influenced by the economic impact of the pandemic, particularly with respect to synagogue membership fees, but that Jewish identity also plays a part, most acutely in relation to making voluntary contributions to schools.
Recent Public Discourses on Anti-Jewish Violence in Moldovan History, 1991–2019
Author(s): Felcher, Anastasia
Date: 2020
Topics: Main Topic: Holocaust and Memorial, Holocaust Commemoration, Holocaust Memorials, Antisemitism, Jewish Community, Memory, Memorial, Jewish Organisations
Abstract: Efforts to commemorate the victims of the 1903 Chişinǎu (Kishinev) pogrom and the Holocaust in Bessarabia and Transnistria have achieved varying degrees of success in the Republic of Moldova. Gaining public recognition for these experiences has proven a convoluted process. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the local Community has led an enduring memorialization campaign, which has steadily evolved with the shifting political climate. Though Community representatives have at times had a fraught relationship with Moldovan officials, they have continuously sought official acknowledgment of their efforts. This article analyzes how both the government and the Jewish Community have handled memory in public spaces and the local media of Chişinǎu.
Jewish Europe Today. Between Memory and Everyday Life
Editor(s): Dimentstein, Marcelo; Tartakowsky, Ewa
Date: 2020
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Identity, Jewish Revival, Antisemitism, Jewish Culture, Jewish Heritage, Rabbis, Kashrut, Shechita / Ritual Slaughter, Jewish Organisations, Care and Welfare
Židia na Slovensku po roku 1989. Komunita medzi budúcnosťou a minulosťou
Translated Title: Jews in Slovakia after 1989. The community between the future and the past
Author(s): Salner, Peter
Date: 2018
Topics: Jewish Identity, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Festivals and Holidays, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Post-1989, Religious Observance and Practice
Abstract: Kniha sa zaoberá židovskou komunitou v období po novembri 1989. Úvodné časti (Úvod, Výskum, Literatúra) majú informatívny charakter. Ťažisko knihy tvoria tri kapitoly. Prvá z nich, nazvaná Komunita, sumarizuje vznik Ústredného zväzu Židovských náboženských obcí a jeho vzťahy s náboženskými obcami. Priestor dostala aj charakteristika základných pojomov, súčasné aktivity a dve dôležité inštitúcie židovskej komunity: Dokumentačné stredisko holokaustu a Židovské komunitné múzeum, ktoré pôsobí v priestoroch bratislavskej synagógy.

Druhá kapitola si všíma dva historické sviatky (Pesach a Chanuka), ktoré porovnáva s prejavmi pripomienok holokaustu. Autor analyzuje spoločné a rozdielne znaky, premeny v čase, ale hlavne význam, aký majú tieto príležitosti pre súčasníkov.

V kapitole Symboly autor analyzuje a prepája zdanlivo nesúvisiace fenomény, ako sú synagóga, kaviareň, židovský humor či memoriál Chatama Sofera.

Záver monografie ukazuje, že pre zložité súčasné procesy sú charakteristické tri zdanlivo jednoduché pojmy: zjednodušovanie, individualizácia a najmä selektívny prístup k tradičným religióznym a sviatočným javom. V praxi to znamená prechod od kolektívnej realizácie aktivít k individuálnym prejavom, od verejného k súkromnému a v konečnom dôsledku od komplexného k selektívnemu. Predovšetkým faktor selektívnosti sa javí ako určujúci pri analýze súčasného stavu a úvahách o možných trendoch budúcnosti.
Jewish Holidays in the Time of the Corona Virus Pandemic in Slovakia
Author(s): Salner, Peter
Date: 2020
Topics: Coronavirus/Covid, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Festivals and Holidays, Religious Observance and Practice, Main Topic: Other, Health
Abstract: The first wave of the new coronavirus pandemic swept through Slovakia between March 1 and May 31, 2020. During this relatively short period, four important Jewish holidays took place: Purim, Pesach, Lag BaOmer, and Shavuot. When the news of the pandemic initially broke, a large part of Slovak society viewed COVID-19 as a remote, and therefore, not entirely dangerous, threat. This attitude shifted on March 6, , when the first case of the disease was confirmed in the country. On March 9, the authorities reacted by introducing the first set of public health measures, which the Jewish Religious Community immediately relayed to its members. The policy adopted by the JRC leadership was faced with a serious religious challenge. In these conditions, the observance of holidays required a degree of improvisation. Bar a few extraordinary examples, it was impossible to fulfill all of the traditionally required customs. Factors of selectiveness, streamlining, and individualization therefore had an even greater impact than usual. Involuntary isolation brought out the importance of family ties, as well as the need for solidarity.
Sport and British Jewish identity
Author(s): Dart, Jon
Date: 2020
Topics: Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Sports, Shabbat, Interviews, Jewish Organisations, Football
Abstract: This article examines the relationship between sport and Jewish identity. The experiences of Jewish people have rarely been considered in previous sport-related research which has typically focused on ‘Black’ and South Asian individuals, sports clubs, and organisations. Drawing on data generated from interviews (n = 20) and focus groups (n = 2) with individuals based in one British city, this article explores how their Jewish identity was informed, and shaped by, different sports activities and spaces. This study’s participants were quick to correct the idea that sport was alien to Jewish culture and did not accept the stereotype that ‘Jews don’t play sport’. The limited historical research on sport and Jewish people and the ongoing debates around Jewish identity are noted before exploring the role of religion and the suggestion that Jewish participation in sport is affected by the Shabbat (sabbath). Participants discussed how sports clubs acted as spaces for the expression and re/affirmation of their Jewish identity, before they reflected on the threats posed to the wider Jewish community by secularism, assimilation, and antisemitism. The article concludes by discussing how the sporting experiences of the study’s British Jewish participants compare with the experiences of individuals from other ethnic minority communities.
Jewish Studies in the FSU: From Scholarship to Social, Cultural and Educational Construction, Regeneration and Growth
Author(s): Parizhsky, Simon
Editor(s): Wygoda, Shmuel; Sorek, Israel
Date: 2009
Topics: Education, Education: Adult Education, Jewish Education, Jewish Studies, Jewish Schools, Jewish Revival, Main Topic: Education, Universities / Higher Education, Jewish Organisations
Die Wiedergeburt der jüdischen Gemeinschaft in Polen aus der Perspektive von Frauen
Translated Title: The renaissance of the Jewish community in Poland from women’s perspective
Author(s): Czerwonogóra, Katarzyna
Date: 2012
Topics: Jewish Revival, Jewish Women, Gender, Jewish Organisations, Jewish Community, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: Seit der Wende 1989 erfahren die jüdischen Gemeinden in Polen eine Wiederbelebung und ein wachsendes Interesse, ihre Traditionen zu bewahren. Diese Revitalisierung ist aus der Geschlechterperspektive auch kritisch
zu betrachten, sofern sich diese auf orthodoxe religiöse Traditionen bezieht. Eines der problematischen Symptome ist die Stärkung der Geschlechterhierarchie und die Unterprivilegierung der Frauen. Andererseits haben die
weltlichen jüdischen Organisationen emanzipatorische Wirkungen für polnische Jüdinnen. Der Beitrag präsentiert Erfahrungen von Frauen in der Jüdischen Community in Polen. Er basiert auf Interviews mit Frauen der jüdischen Gemeinden in Krakau und Warschau, die zwischen 2006 und 2009 geführt wurden, und gibt einen kritischen Einblick in ein Phänomen, das im Allgemeinen sehr positiv gesehen wird.
Życie religijne i jego organizacja w gminie żydowskiej we Wrocławiu
Translated Title: Religious Life and Its Organization in Wroclaw Jewish Community
Author(s): Banasiewicz-Ossowska, Ewa
Date: 2015
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Synagogues, Rabbis, Religious Education, Jewish Revival, Conversion
Abstract: Artykuł dotyczy różnych aspektów życia religijnego i praktyk religijnych we współczesnej gminie żydowskiej we Wrocławiu, odnosząc się jednocześnie do zmian, jakie następowały w tej sferze od momentu powstania powojennej gminy wrocławskiej. Wskazuje na podstawy prawne istnienia i prowadzenia działalności religijnej przez gminy żydowskie, na identyfikację religijną gminy wrocławskiej oraz tworzącej ją społeczności. Podkreśla rolę rabina w procesie odradzania się żydowskiego życia religijnego we Wrocławiu i integrowania członków gminy. Odnosi się m.in. do cotygodniowych i dorocznych świąt religijnych celebrowanych w gminie, specyfiki sprawowanej liturgii i odmawianych modlitw, stosunku do reguł kaszrutu czy religijnych obrzędów praktykowanych przez członków wspólnoty. Zwraca uwagę na zjawisko powrotów do judaizmu, w dużej mierze osób młodych, poprzez obrzęd konwersji, ale jednocześnie także na proces zastępowania wiedzy religijnej przez poczucie wspólnoty.
Społeczność żydowska w Łodzi po 1945 r. Szkic do portretu
Author(s): Wasilewska-Klamka, Beata
Editor(s): Lech, Andrzej; Rykała, Andrzej; Radziszewska, Krystyna
Date: 2010
Topics: Jewish Organisations, Jewish Identity, Youth, Main Topic: Other, Memory, Age and Generational Issues, Ageing and the Elderly, Jewish Community
Współczesne życie organizacyjne i wspólnotowe łódzkich Żydów 13 Wprowadzenie
Author(s): Kuźma, Inga
Editor(s): Lech, Andrzej; Rykała, Andrzej; Radziszewska, Krystyna
Date: 2010
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Organisations, Jewish Identity, Youth
Łódzkie organizacje niemieckie i żydowskie w kontekście teorii stowarzyszeń
Translated Title: German and Jewish Organizations in Łódź in the Context of the Theory of Association
Author(s): Krawczyk, Agnieszka
Date: 2015
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Organisations, Law, Fundraising and Philanthropy
Abstract: This article presents the profiles of German (German Cultural-Social Association; Biblical Association of the German language) and Jewish (Jewish Community of Łódź; The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation with The Magen Dawid Association and Foundation) organizations. Their activities are analyzed with regard to selected regulations of the “Associations law” and the concept of social educators. Aleksander Kamiński described associations by defining their functions. These functions are also realized in actions undertaken by German and Jewish organizations.
Inkluzywność oparta na wartościach religijnych w edukacji społeczności żydowskiej w Polsce na przykładzie działalności Stowarzyszenia Żydowskiego Cukunft
Translated Title: Inclusion based on religious values in the education of the Jewish community in Poland on the exampleof the Cukunft Jewish Association’s activism
Author(s): Wilczura, Aleksandra
Editor(s): Humeniuk, Monika; Paszenda, Iwona
Date: 2017
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Organisations, Jewish Education, Multiculturalism
Abstract: Artykuł prezentuje działania edukacyjne i społeczno-kulturalne o cha-rakterze inkluzywnym prowadzone w Polsce dla społeczności żydowskiej przez jej członków i członkinie zrzeszonych w Stowarzyszeniu Żydowskim Cukunft. Jako świecka organizacja Cukunft w swoich działaniach bazuje na żydowskich wartościach religijnych i kulturowych, z którymi zwraca się zarówno do spo-łeczności żydowskiej, jak i nieżydowskiej (świeckiej, katolickiej, protestanckiej i muzułmańskiej). Dzięki takiemu nowatorskiemu podejściu Cukunft stara się poruszać ważne kwestie społeczne, jak stereotypy, uprzedzenia, dyskryminację i wykluczenie ze względu na wyznanie, afiliację religijną, pochodzenie narodowe i etniczne, wiek, płeć, orientację seksualną i status społeczny. Celem tych działań jest wspieranie polskiego społeczeństwa obywatelskiego otwartego na różnorod-ność i bogactwo kulturowe Polaków należących do różnych grup mniejszościo-wych oraz aktywne przeciwdziałanie wszelkim formom rasizmu, antysemity-zmu, ksenofobii i wykluczenia społecznego. Tego typu podejście w żydowskiej edukacji religijnej pozwala podtrzymać pamięć o żydowskich wartościach kultu-rowo-religijnych i nadać im nową, uniwersalną jakość. Dzięki temu są one nadal obecne w przestrzeni społecznej. Słowa kluczowe: dialog religijny, dyskryminacja krzyżowa, inkluzywność reli-gijna, judaizm, wykluczenie, Żydzi W opracowaniach naukowych dotyczących współczesnego życia żydow-skiego w Polsce przyjęło się uważać, że wraz z upadkiem komunizmu po 1989 roku nastąpił dynamiczny rozwój polskiej społeczności żydowskiej, określany mianem żydowskiego odrodzenia (Jewish Revival) 1. Dowodem tego 1 Tematyką odrodzenia żydowskiego w Polsce po 1989 roku od wielu lat naukowo zajmują się m.in.
Research on the Jewish Community in Polish Social Sciences: Achievements, Perspectives and Scientific Challenges over the Last Two Decades
Translated Title: Badania nad społecznością żydowska w polskich naukach społecznych: osiągnięcia, perspektywy i naukowe wyzwania
Author(s): Cukras-Stelągowska, Joanna
Date: 2018
Topics: Jewish Community, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Universities / Higher Education, Jewish Studies, Jewish Education, Jewish Organisations, Psychology, Sociology
Abstract: In my paper, I would like to focus on the achievements of researchers studyingthe Jewish community and culture in Poland. In recent decades, there havebeen numerous publications in this area. It must be admitted that most ofthem are historical works. However, I would like to draw attention to slightlydispersed studies in the field of social sciences (sociology, psychology, peda-gogy). Who are the researchers who deal with Jewish themes? What are thecommon and individual elements of their scientific approaches? Are all ofthese elements part of the discourse of research on the ‘renaissance of theJewish community and identity’? I would like to look at the explorations ofboth researchers connected with the Jewish environment and ‘outsiders’ (in-cluding young foreign researchers interested in Polish Jews). The scope oftheir research is therefore quite diverse and includes issues such as: buildingJewish identity and institutional structures; religious life and the activities ofreligious and secular associations; relations with dominant culture; informaleducation, Jewish education and family upbringing.
Spatial Behavior in Haredi Jewish Communities in Great Britain
Author(s): Flint Ashery, Shlomit
Date: 2020
Topics: Haredi / Strictly Orthodox Jews, Jewish Neighbourhoods, Geography, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Other, Hassidim, Family and Household, Housing
Abstract: This book focuses on the strict orthodox Jewish (Haredi) community, which comprises many sects whose communal identity plays a central role in everyday life and spatial organization. The research reveals and analyses powerful mechanisms of residential segregation acting at the apartment-, building- and near-neighbourhood levels. Identifying the main engines of spontaneous and organised neighbourhood change and evaluating the difficulties of liberalism dealing with non-autonomous individuals in the housing market sheds light on similar processes occurring in other city centres with diverse population groups. Highlighting the impact of various organisational levels on the spatial structure of the urban enclave, the book focuses on the internal dynamics of ethno-religious enclaves that emerge from three levels of action: (1) individuals' relationships with their own and other groups; (2) the community leadership's powers within the group and in respect of other groups; and (3) government directives and tools (e.g planning). The study examines how different levels of communal organisation are reflected in the residential patterns of four British communities: the Litvish communities of Golders Green and Gateshead, and the Hassidic communities of Stamford Hill and Canvey Island.
Евреи Беларуси: общий обзор
Translated Title: Jews of Belarus – a Current Picture
Author(s): Sheveliov, Dymitry
Date: 2018
Topics: Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Revival
Abstract: На протяжении почти 30 лет, прошедших после распада СССР в 1991 году, численность еврейского населения Беларуси постоянно сокращалась вследствие ассимиляции, естественной убыли (депопуляции) и особенно ‑ эмиграции из страны. Еврейские общинные организации оценивают численность еврейского населения республики на сегодняшний момент либо 9-15, либо 30-40 тысяч человек. Тем не менее, в стране действует разветвленная сеть городских, религиозных, культурных и других еврейских организаций, объединенных в три, иногда соперничающие друг с другом «зонтичные» структуры. Лоббистские возможности еврейских организаций, которые в Беларуси, в отличие от иных постсоветских республик, не находятся под опекой крупного частного бизнеса или межрегиональных еврейских объединений, ограничены и потому фактически зависят от личных связей отдельных общинных лидеров с представителями власти. Интерес широкой публики к еврейской истории и культуре; желание властей превратить еврейскую историю Беларуси в дипломатический и политический бренд и продвижение, в рамках политики развития туризма в стране, идеи международного еврейского паломничества к «сакральным иудейским объектам», по аналогии с паломничеством иудеев на Украину в период осенних праздников ‑ перспективы общинной жизни Беларуси в ближайшие годы.
Volunteering in Jewish Communities in the FSU: aims, effectiveness and impact
Translated Title: Еврейская добровольческая активность в странах бывшего СССР: содержание, цели и влияние на общинную жизнь
Author(s): Kaniel, Asaf; Arnon, Liora
Date: 2019
Topics: Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Other, Volunteering, Surveys
Abstract: In the late 1980s, JDC resumed its work in the Soviet Union. It continued to operate in the new countries that emerged upon its dissolution. Since then, it has focused on the fulfillment of two main goals: the renewal of Jewish life, through the establishment of community infrastructures and bringing Jews closer to their people and their culture, and support for the elderly and poor Jewish population. These goals are promoted primarily by the community organizations ‑ Hassadim and community centers (JCCs) ‑ scattered throughout FSU.
Идиш возвращается в Лемберг
Translated Title: Yiddish Revived in Lemberg
Author(s): Сикорская, Оксана; Москалец, Владислава
Date: 2019
Topics: Jewish Organisations, Jewish Culture, Yiddish, Main Topic: Culture and Heritage, Jewish Revival
Abstract: Традиционный язык ашкеназского еврейства – идиш ‑ почти исчез в качестве средства живого общения на просторах Восточной Европы и постсоветских стран в связи с культурной ассимиляцией в советское время и массовой эмиграцией его последних носителей в 90-е гг. прошлого века. Но он был одним из важнейших символов еврейского возрождения в 1988-1992 годах, то есть накануне распада СССР и в ранний постсоветский период. Именно вокруг идеи восстановления и развития идишской культуры строилась деятельность возникших в те годы Обществ еврейской культуры, первое из которых в Украине (оно же ‑ второе по счету в СССР) было основано во Львове. Однако в последующие годы этот фактор ушел на периферию идентичности местного еврейства. После перерыва в четверть века интерес к данной теме вновь возрождается, но уже как к академической дисциплине, причем в основном усилиями нееврейских интеллектуалов и деятелей местной культуры. Сам по себе этот процесс можно только приветствовать, однако одновременно еврейским общественным лидерам имеет смысл задаться вопросом, что стоит за этот тенденцией. Общая либерализация гуманитарного знания, попытка ответственно взглянуть на историю своих народов в свете судеб их еврейских соседей или характерная для ряда стран Восточной Европы попытка превращения еврейской культуры в приватизированную местным нееврейским обществом «единицу памяти»?
Антисемитизм в России и Украине: доклады и полемика
Translated Title: Antisemitism in Russia and Ukraine: Reports and Debates
Author(s): Ханин, Зеев
Date: 2019
Topics: Jewish Organisations, Antisemitism, Antisemitism: Monitoring, Main Topic: Antisemitism, Policy, Israel-Diaspora Relations
Abstract: В конце прошлого, 2018го и начале этого 2019 года были опубликованы очередные доклады израильских, российских и украинских организаций, вовлеченных в процесс мониторинга появлений антисемитизма и ксенофобии на просторах бывшего СССР, и прежде всего – в России и Украине. Факты и выводы этих документов стали богатым информационным поводом и предметом оживленной дискуссии представителей политических кругов этих стран и различных фракций постсоветских еврейских элит. Основные разногласия связаны с темой классификации тех или иных событий в качестве антисемитских проявлений. Точкой соприкосновения сторонников разных подходов является стремление уделять особое внимание не только прямым физическими преступлениями или вандализма на почве ненависти к евреям, но и таким сюжетам как подстрекательство, попытки диффамации евреев и Израиля, отрицание Катастрофы, и антисемитизм, замаскированный под «антисионизм».


В конце прошлого, 2018-го и начале этого 2019 года вниманию общественности были представлены очередные доклады организаций, вовлеченных в процесс мониторинга появлений антисемитизма и ксенофобии на просторах бывшего СССР, и прежде всего – в России и Украине. Где тема отношения властей и общества к евреям стала заметным элементом психологической, дипломатической и информационной активности, сопровождающей уже более чем четырехлетний тяжелый конфликт между двумя странами. Не случайно, что факты и выводы документов, представленных в нынешней – как и прошлогодней серии докладов, стали богатым информационным поводом и предметом оживленной дискуссии представителей политических кругов этих стран и различных фракций постсоветских еврейских элит
Русско-еврейская иммиграция и будущее еврейских общин в объединенной Германии
Translated Title: Russian Jewish Immigrants as the Catalyst of New Jewish Pluralism in Re-Unified Germany
Author(s): Глекнер, Олаф
Date: 2019
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Russian-Speaking Jews, Jewish Identity, National Identity, Immigration, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Integration
Abstract: Катастрофа европейского еврейства привела к почти полному исчезновению еврейской общины Германии. Чудо случилось в 1990-х годах, когда русскоязычные евреи стали тысячами прибывать в эту страну. Для местных евреев неожиданная иммиграция казалась удачным шансом, выпавшим еврейским сообществам и обществу в целом. Однако первое поколение русско-еврейских иммигрантов столкнулось с большим числом социальных проблем и трудностей интеграции на рынок труда. К этому следует добавить культурное отчуждение от немецкого общества и серьезные различия в культуре, ментальности и идентичности с местными еврейскими общинами. А также конфликты между старожилами и новоприбывшими относительно желаемых моделей организации еврейской жизни – в силу чего и через тридцать лет после начала иммиграции русские евреи все еще мало представлены в общенациональном еврейском руководстве. И все же, впервые после окончания Второй мировой войны у еврейских общин Германии появился шанс построить плюралистическую модель религиозных, культурных, образовательных и политических проектов. Второе поколение русских евреев Германии не сталкивается с проблемами интеграции, подобные проблемам родителей, и большинство из этого поколения вольется в немецкий средний класс и профессиональную элиту страны – или уже находятся там. Но при этом совершенно непонятно пока, до какой степени второе поколение русских евреев будет искать собственные корни, интересоваться еврейским наследием и участвовать в жизни еврейских общин.
Так есть ли будущее у русскоязычной еврейской общины в Германии и ЕС?
Translated Title: Do Russian Jewish Communities Have a Future in Germany and the EU?
Author(s): Ханин, Зеев
Date: 2019
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Community, European Union, Russian-Speaking Jews, Jewish Organisations, Umbrella Bodies
Abstract: В статье, опубликованной в выпуске № 15 EAJ Policy papers, Олаф Глокнер перечисляет проблемы, с которыми столкнулось первое поколение русскоязычных евреев-иммигрантов в Германии. Однако завершает свой анализ позитивными перспективами развития еврейской общины этой страны. Насколько его оптимизм оправдан? Похоже, что отчужденность евреев-иммигрантов в Германии от местного общества и еврейских общин оказалась даже глубже, чем казалось ранее, и в каком-то смысле охватывает и намного более профессионально и культурно интегрированное поколение молодого и раннего среднего возраста. Потому в Европе более чем в других местах сохранение русско-еврейского самосознания является фактором сохранения еврейской идентичности вообще. Альтернативой ей является усвоение не столько «местного еврейского» сколько собственно нееврейского гражданского идентификационного компонента. Смогут ли транснациональные зонтичные еврейские структуры ответить на этот вызов, пока «поезд» еще окончательно не ушел?
Jewish Communal Service in Romania and Poland 1986-2006: Partnership, Challenges, and Transitions
Author(s): Feine, Zvi
Date: 2019
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Revival, Care and Welfare, Community Development, Charity / Tzedakah, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Jewish Organisations
Abstract: Dr. Zvi Feine served the Jewish communities of Romania and Poland as country director for the Joint Distribution Community during those two countries respective transitions from Communist rule. This memoir of his work under the constraints of communism, through the violent December 1989 revolution in Romania and the more peaceful transition in Poland, and in the aftermath of transition to democracy describes the challenges of effective communal service in turbulent times. The mission of the JDC was to support and partner with the Jewish communities that remained after the devastation of the Holocaust, sustaining the Jews of Eastern Europe with material and communal assistance. Dr. Feine relates poignant and harrowing memories of working under the constant surveillance of the Securitate secret service agency and dealing with the aftermath of the revolution and the resistance to change, all the while navigating a complex and delicate web of history, religious and cultural mores, personalities, ideals, and hopes. Illustrated here are numerous principles of communal work, including the importance of understanding the cultural context, resource and leadership development, and the crucial role that lay leaders can play. Communal workers in the Jewish community and beyond will benefit from Dr. Feine's accumulated wisdom over a lifetime of community service in positions all over the globe.
Re-Enabling the Disabled: The Struggle of Blind Russian Jews for Citizenship in the New Russia
Author(s): Goluboff, Sascha L.
Date: 2000
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Disability and Special Needs, Jewish Organisations
Income Concentration Trends and Competition in the Charitable Sector: An Analysis of Jewish Charities in England and Wales
Author(s): Casale Mashiah, Donatella
Date: 2019
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Organisations, Charity / Tzedakah, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Finance
Abstract: Jewish charities are a subgroup of about two thousand, five hundred organizations, accounting for 1.5% of the total number of main charities in England and Wales. The increasing total income of general charities has prompted considerable debate about the perceived concentration of income and the perceived dominance of bigger charities over smaller ones. Meanwhile, the implications of competition for charitable behavior have remained underappreciated. Building on these assumptions and aiming to test how far the results of research carried out in the charitable sector in general apply to the Jewish charitable sector in particular, the research investigates the trends in concentration of income of a sample of 1301 Jewish charities operating between 1995 and 2015, using common measures of concentration to describe the competitiveness of the Jewish charitable sector in England and Wales. The findings suggest that the sector, in line with the wider UK charitable sector, experienced high levels of growth in terms of both aggregate total income and the number of charities operating, along with decreasing levels of income concentration. These findings allow one to hypothesize that, other things being constant, the increasing numbers of entrant charities may well have increased the size distribution of charities providing the same products or services, therefore exacerbating the competition for charitable funding in the Jewish charitable sector. This, in turn, on the one hand is likely to have exacerbated the competition for donations especially among charities pursuing similar causes, reducing the total amount of charitable money devoted to particular causes. On the other hand, the increasing numbers of charities providing the same products or services and the resultant increasing competition for funding may have impacted on the costs and efforts Jewish charities were able to divert to fundraising at the expense of resources that could be devoted, instead, to service provision.
Jüdische Religion in Deutschland: Säkularität, Traditionsbewahrung und Erneuerung
Translated Title: Jewish religion in Germany: Secularity, tradition preservation and renewal
Author(s): Schrage, Eva-Maria
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Organisations, Synagogues, Religious Observance and Practice, Circumcision / Brit Milah, Gemeinden, Reform/Liberal/Progressive Judaism, Orthodox Judaism
Abstract: Eva-Maria Schrage untersucht in ihrer Studie, wie junge Jüdinnen und Juden ihre Religion heute leben. Zugleich geht sie der Frage nach, wie Rabbiner, Rabbinerinnen und religiöse Gemeinschaften damit umgehen, dass die Religion im Leben vieler Jüdinnen und Juden heute eine untergeordnete Rolle spielt. Die Grundlage der Studie sind sowohl narrative Interviews religiöser Führungspersönlichkeiten als auch biographische Erzählungen von Mitgliedern verschiedener jüdischer Gemeinden. In der Beschneidungsdebatte 2012 wurde erstmals in der deutschen Nachkriegsgeschichte eine religiöse Praxis des Judentums öffentlich diskutiert. Unabhängig davon gibt es innerhalb des hiesigen Judentums schon länger vielfältige Diskussionen darüber, wie man die Religion in der Gegenwartsgesellschaft praktizieren sol
Conversions au judaïsme et institutionnalité juive : une sociologie comparée du pluralisme religieux dans le judaïsme contemporain (Israël, France, Argentine, Etats-Unis)
Translated Title: Conversions to judaism and jewish institutionality: A compared sociology of religious pluralism in contemporary judaism (Israel, France, Argentina and United States)
Author(s): Tank-Storper, Sébastien
Date: 2003
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Organisations, Conversion, Intermarriage, Pluralism
Abstract: Environ 90% des demandes de conversion adressées aujourd'hui aux institutions juives émanent de conjoints non juifs de "couples mixtes" désirant homogénéiser religieusement leur famille. Cela pose un double problème aux institutions: tout d'abord, selon la Halakha, ne peut être accepté qu'un candidat qui ne désire pas se convertir pour obtenir un bénéfice de sa conversion. Ensuite, cela pose la question de la réponse institutionnelle à la transgression: l'exogamie étant interdite par le judaïsme, faut-il repousser les déviants en refusant de régulariser a posteriori leur situation en convertissant le conjoint ou au contraire opter pour plus de tolérance et les intégrer? Ce dossier permet ainsi d'interroger les modalités de construction de l'autorité rabbinique et des institutions dans un contexte où ces derniers peinent de plus en plus à imposer leurs normes à des fidèles revendiquant leur autonomie.
Fourth Survey of European Jewish Community Leaders and Professionals, 2018
Author(s): Kosmin, Barry A.
Date: 2018
Topics: Antisemitism, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Israel Attachment, Jewish Continuity, Religious Denominations, Security, Surveys, Jewish Leadership, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity
Abstract: The Fourth Survey of European Jewish Community Leaders and Professionals, 2018 presents the results of an online survey offered in 10 languages and administered to 893 respondents in 29 countries. Conducted every three years using the same format, the survey seeks to identify trends and their evolution in time.

The survey asked Jewish lay leaders and community professionals questions regarding future community priorities, identifying the main threats to Jewish life, views on the safety and security situation in their cities, including emergency preparedness, and opinions on an array of internal community issues. Examples include conversions, membership criteria policies on intermarriage, and their vision of Europe and Israel.

The respondents were comprised of presidents and chairpersons of nationwide “umbrella organizations” or Federations; presidents and executive directors of private Jewish foundations, charities, and other privately funded initiatives; presidents and main representatives of Jewish communities that are organized at a city level; executive directors and programme coordinators, as well as current and former board members of Jewish organizations; among others.

The JDC International Centre for Community Development established the survey as a means to identify the priorities, sensibilities and concerns of Europe’s top Jewish leaders and professionals working in Jewish institutions, taking into account the changes that European Jewry has gone through since 1989, and the current political challenges and uncertainties in the continent. In a landscape with few mechanisms that can truly gauge these phenomena, the European Jewish Community Leaders Survey is an essential tool for analysis and applied research in the field of community development.

The Survey team was directed by Dr. Barry Kosmin (Trinity College), who has conducted several large national social surveys and opinion polls in Europe, Africa and the U.S., including the CJF 1990 US National Jewish Population Survey.
La cacherout en France [XXe siècle]. Organisation matérielle d’une consommation symbolique
Author(s): Nizard, Sophie
Date: 1998
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Kashrut, Jewish Organisations
A holocaust-szindróma megjelenése a pszichoterápiás gyakorlatban.
Author(s): Virág, Teréz
Date: 1994
Topics: Main Topic: Holocaust and Memorial, Holocaust Survivors, Holocaust Survivors: Children of, Psychotherapy / Psychoanalysis, Jewish Organisations
Abstract: The author is a Hungarian psychoanalyst who recently started to run Kut, a consultation and therapy center under the auspices of the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association,
offering help to those who suffered directly or indirectly by the Holocaust. In her article she presents the activities of the centre, and illustrates them by exposing a few
cases.
Wat is er toch aan de hand met Joods Nederland? Een persoonlijke verkenning van de demografische, maatschappelijke en politieke ontwikkelingen die de toekomst van de Joodse gemeenschap in Nederland beïnvloeden
Translated Title: What is the matter with Jewish Netherlands? A personal exploration of the demographic, social and political developments that influence the future of the Jewish community in the Netherlands
Author(s): Vuijsje, Hans
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Community, Demography, Jewish Organisations
Abstract: Een PS, een “afterthought”, na een 36-jarige carrière in Joods Nederland
Lezing van Hans Vuijsje bij zijn afscheid als Algemeen directeur-bestuurder
van Joods Maatschappelijk Werk (JMW) op 22 februari 2018
Возрождение иудейской общины Перми в 1990-е гг.: соотношение этнических и религиозных мотивов
Translated Title: "Revival" of The Jewish Community of Perm in 1990s: The Correlation of Ethnic and Eeligious Motives
Author(s): Шишигина, Мария
Date: 2018
Topics: Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Community, Jewish Revival, Synagogues
Abstract: The article considers the features of the correlation of ethnic and religious identifiers in the process of “revival” of the activities of the Jewish community of Perm in the post-Soviet period. Both types of identifiers which due to the specificity of Judaism as a nationally oriented religion analyzed as significant in the process of defining of phenomenon of the community. The main problem is that the cultural component of Judaism is the most important consolidating factor in the construction of the Jewish community. At the 1990’s. the community was a consolidated group, where Judaism is the connecting element. The cultural component of this system comes to the fore, and activities in this area contribute to the position of the community in the intercultural and urban space. Mass public events attested relevance of the cultural component of Judaism. Social and cultural activity had due to enter the Jewish community into the social space of the city, legitimizing its activity. Change of eras of the turn of the 1990s has contributed rise of appeal to the cultural component of the Jewish tradition. At the same time, cultural identity did not always fully coincide with the confessional one. Interviews with members of the community confirmed that the “revival” took place in Jewish cultural life, and the religious component played the role of an external occasion for the consolidation of the community. The emergence of religion from the “social ghetto” facilitated the observance of rites and norms of cult practice, accelerated the process of legitimizing the ethno-confessional community. The cultural component of Judaism is also a factor of internal communication in the community. The number of Jews who visited religious events and do not attend prayers, indicates the relevance of events that emphasize national identity. Getting a free meal by the older generation is also an economic factor that contributes to the consolidation of the community. The cultural activities of the community described by the respondents testify to the inclusion of Judaism in the inter-confessional sphere of the city. Project activity gives an opportunity to familiarize the population with Jewish culture, contributes to the regulation of interethnic relations within the society, and the formation of tolerant attitudes towards representatives of different faiths. Members and representatives of the Jewish community actively participate in religious events, which take place both in the walls of the synagogue and on city sites. The development and implementation of projects aimed at increasing the religious literacy of the population contributes to the formation of a tolerant society.
Социологический портрет участника массовых благотворительных акций в современной еврейской общине Москвы
Translated Title: Jewish fundraising campaign in contemporary Moscow: a sociological survey
Author(s): Членов, Матвей
Date: 2007
Topics: Jewish Organisations, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Main Topic: Other
Конструирование еврейской идентичности посредством институционального воздействия (на примере общины Санкт-Петербурга)
Translated Title: Construction of the Jewish identity under the institutional influence (as exemplified by the St.Petersburg Jewish community)
Author(s): Шайдук, Олеся
Date: 2007
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations
Witnessing loss in the everyday: Community buildings in austerity Britain
Author(s): Robinson, Katherine; Sheldon, Ruth
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Community, Elderly Care, Care and Welfare, Jewish Organisations, Economy, Ethnography, Memory, Comparisons with other communities
Abstract: This article is concerned with what happens to precarious community buildings in times of austerity. It responds to a landscape of capitalist realism, in which instrumental, economic forms of value are mobilised to justify the closure of ordinary buildings whose survival is not identified as a political priority. The study focuses on two London cases of a library and an elderly day centre under threat of closure, and traces how grammars of austerity rendered these buildings substitutable. Considering how abstract sociological conceptions of value/s can struggle to break into the embedded common sense of austerity, the authors explore how ethnographic practices of collaboration and attentiveness can help amplify alternative expressions of the meanings of these buildings for their communities. Enacting a form of ethnographic witnessing, which learns from Wittgenstein, the authors highlight the creative, vernacular registers and gestures of library users and day centre members, and show how these were anchored in the buildings themselves. In this way, the article supplements noisier, more hyperbolic accounts of the violence of austerity by amplifying quotidian responses, which express how ordinary buildings and the forms of life they sustain, matter.
The Jews of Ukraine: Past and Present
Author(s): Smilianskaya, Yuliana
Date: 2015
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Representation
Abstract: A large number of Jewish communities as well as non-profit and cultural organizations have been
established in Ukraine since 1991. Restored and new synagogues serve as religious and cultural centers.
The Jewish institutions focus their efforts on the integration of the history of the Ukrainian Jews
into the historical memory of Ukraine. Ukrainian Jews also protested on Maidan Square.
Religion, regulation, consumption: Globalising kosher and halal markets
Author(s): Lever, John; Fischer, Johan
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Kashrut, Globalisation, Comparisons with other communities, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Economy, Jewish Organisations, Religion and State, Finance
Abstract: This book explores the emergence and expansion of global kosher and halal markets with a particular focus on the UK and Denmark. Kosher is a Hebrew term meaning 'fit' or 'proper' while halal is an Arabic word that literally means 'permissible' or 'lawful'. This is the first book to explore kosher and halal comparatively at different levels of the social scale such as individual consumption, the marketplace, religious organisations and the state. Kosher and halal markets have become global in scope and states, manufacturers, restaurants, shops, certifiers and consumers around the world are faced with ever stricter and more complex kosher and halal requirements. The research question in this book is: What are the consequences of globalising kosher and halal markets?
Renewal: Reconnecting Soviet Jewry to the Soviet People. A Decade of American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJJDC) Activities in the Former Soviet Union 1988-1998
Author(s): Weiner, Anita
Date: 2003
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Organisations, Post-1989, International Aid, NGOs, Poverty, Care and Welfare
Abstract: Seven decades of severe Soviet cultural-religious suppression and two world wars had isolated and demolished the once flourishing Jewish communities behind the Iron Curtain. When the era of Glasnost and Perestroika presented an opportunity for world Jewry to reestablish its lost ties with the three of four million Jews still living throughout the former Soviet Republics, it was unknown whether there was any hope for some kind of Jewish community renewal. The story of how the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a voluntary, humanitarian organization supported by American Jewry, made its entry into the isolated, poverty-stricken world, is a dramatic one. Beginning with only a few highly motivated and experienced workers, contact was made through music, literature, food packages, and religious holiday celebrations. Local Jewish leadership emerged and was encouraged. Plans for community development through social, religious, educational and welfare services were made and implemented. With the guidance of AJJDC and its dedicated community workers came rehabilitation and renewal.
The Limmud Impact Study: Exploring volunteers’ Jewish journeys
Author(s): Kahn-Harris, Keith
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Surveys, Focus Groups, Limmud, Jewish Organisations, Evaluation, Volunteering, Jewish Education
Abstract: The Limmud Impact Study looks at how successful Limmud has been in taking people ‘one step further on their Jewish journeys’, what these journeys consist of and their wider impact on Jewish communities.

The study focuses on Limmud volunteers and draws on a survey of ten Limmud volunteer communities in eight countries - UK, USA, South Africa, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Israel and Argentina - together with focus groups conducted with Limmud volunteers from around the world.

The findings provide clear evidence that Limmud advances the majority of its volunteers on their Jewish journeys, and for a significant proportion it takes them ‘further’ towards greater interest in and commitment to Jewish life.

Limmud’s principle impact on its volunteers lies in making new friends and contacts, encountering different kinds of Jews and enhancing a sense of connection to the Jewish people. For many Limmud volunteers, their experience has increased their Jewish
knowledge, their leadership skills and their involvement in the wider Jewish community. Involvement in Limmud therefore enhances both the desire to take further steps on their Jewish journeys, and the tools for doing so.

Limmud impacts equally on Jews regardless of denominationand religious practice. The younger the volunteers and the less committed they are when they begin their Limmud journeys, the further Limmud takes them. Those with more senior levels of involvement in Limmud report higher levels of impact on their Jewish journeys than other volunteers, as do those who had received a subsidy or training from Limmud.

Limmud volunteers often have difficult experiences and risk burnout and
exhaustion. While volunteers generally view the gains as worth the cost, Limmud
needs to pay attention to this issue and provide further support.
Être juive en France aujourd'hui
Author(s): Bitton, Michèle; Panafit, Lionel
Date: 1997
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations
Abstract: L'ouvrage de Michèle Bitton et Lionel Panafit est le fruit d'une enquête rigoureuse. Il décrit avec précision les rituels qui scandent la vie des juifs pratiquants ainsi que les accommodements qui permettent au plus grand nombre de s'adapter à la modernité sans renier leur spécificité ; il met en lumière le renouvellement des institutions politiques, sociales et culturelles qui débordent le cadre strictement confessionnel. Il rend compte de la diversité des pratiques des juifs en France, pratiques fondées sur une identité religieuse et historique qui peuvent parfaitement trouver leur place dans notre société multiconfessionnelle.
Our Community is the Coolest in the World”: Chabad and Jewish Nation-Building in Contemporary Russia
Author(s): Zelenina, Galina
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Chabad-Lubavitch, Politics, Umbrella Bodies, Representation, Jewish Organisations, Orthodox Judaism
Abstract: In the early 2000s, the Russian branch of Lubavitch Hasidism embodied in the Federation of Jewish communities of Russia became a self-proclaimed speaker for Russian Jewry. The paper argues that the Federation is a nation-building project which succeeded in constructing a rather limited and imported real religious community as well as a large and amorphous “imagined community” and tries to offer some inclusive agenda for Russian Jewry as a whole. Most importantly, the Federation switched from the traditional lachrymose concept of the Jewish nation, and suffering as a core of Jewish identity, to the idea of Jewish and Russian Jewish success, achievement, and heroism. The paper seeks to demonstrate that the reason for this ideological innovation lies in Lubavitch mentality (part and parcel of which is the concept of miracle and ardent messianism) as well as in surrounding all-Russian trends. The Federation’s success story and development of optimistic memories and narratives has been parallel to Russia’s “rising from its knees.” The cornerstone of the Federation’s victory on the Russian Jewish scene - its effective and continuous alliance with Kremlin - shows the same pattern: on the one side, it follows the traditional Lubavitch path; on the other, it reflects the traditional Russian idea of state-church “symphony” and dependence of the latter on the former. The attitude to Judaism on the part of the Russian Jewry that supports the Federation may be defined as “vicarious religion,” and may be compared to the “light burden” of Orthodoxy undertaken by the majority of Russians.
Working towards gender equality in small and medium TSOs: An incremental approach
Author(s): Harris, Margaret; Miller, Helena
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Voluntary Sector, Gender, Evaluation, Jewish Women, Jewish Organisations, Umbrella Bodies
Abstract: This paper describes and discusses a gender equality project conducted with Jewish third sector organisations (TSOs). An adapted version of ‘Project Juno’ was used to support six small or medium-sized TSOs in working towards gender equality. Key learning points for the wider TSO sector are drawn out.
Джойнт в СНГ: что происходит? (Независимая точка зрения израильских и российских экспертов.)
Editor(s): Членов, Михаил
Date: 2008
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Organisations, Jewish Leadership, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Conflict
Abstract: Американский еврейский распределительный комитет «Джойнт» и его политика в постсоветских странах стали в последнее время одной из самых обсуждаемых тем в еврейских общинах евразийского пространства. Этот вопрос был затронут в одной из публикаций прошлого "Евроазиатского еврейского ежегодника", что вызвало активную реакцию представителей российской еврейской общины.

Недавно в выходящей в Нью-Йорке газете "Мы здесь" был опубликован обширный аналитический доклад на эту тему, подготовленный группой израильских и российских экспертов, которые предпочли сохранить свою анонимность, по заказу московских предпринимателей, активно участвующих в еврейской благотворительной деятельности.

Мы перепечатываем эту статью с любезного разрешения редакции газеты "Мы здесь" и надеемся, что ее появление приведет к оживлению дискуссии о будущем еврейской общины на постсоветском пространстве.
Judaism Across the Commonwealth of Independent States
Author(s): Charnyi, Semen
Date: 2009
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Reform/Liberal/Progressive Judaism, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Politics, Denominations
Abstract: Semen Charnyi provides insight into the range of Jewish communities in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Basic differences within Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism are overlaid with other issues, including the involvement of rich benefactors and high-level politicians in Jewish life. A relatively recent development within the Jewish community, Progressive Judaism, also is featured, as are the problems that various Jewish groups face today.
The Transnational Dynamics of Black Jews in France
Author(s): Mokoko Gampiot, Aurélien; Coquet-Mokoko, Cécile
Editor(s): Adogame, Afe
Date: 2014
Topics: Race, Minorities, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Main Topic: Identity and Community
The History of Beit Haverim
Author(s): Gross, Martine
Editor(s): Gross, Martine; Nizard, Sophie; Scioldo-Zurcher, Yann
Date: 2017
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, LGBT, Jewish Community, Jewish Organisations, Jewish Communal Politics
Abstract: n her article, Martine Gross studies the multiplication of family models from the point of view of homosexual French Jews. Taking off from the history of a gay and lesbian group, Beit Haverim, she shows how Jewish institutions in France have moved from “grossly ignoring” simply the possibility of a double identity – Jewish
and homosexual – to gradually accepting Beit Haverim as an interlocutor. But she also tells the story of the growing awareness among rabbis and the organized community that a compound reality actually exists
Jewish Studies in Contemporary St. Petersburg: A Response to Andrew Reed
Author(s): Clay, J. Eugene Clay
Date: 2013
Topics: Jewish Revival, Jewish Organisations, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Jewish Studies, Universities / Higher Education, Jewish Education, Main Topic: Education, Outreach
Abstract: Despite the drastic decline in the Jewish population of St. Petersburg, Russia, Jewish
studies is undergoing a renaissance thanks to the dedication of activists, scholars, and specialists.
Convergent Aims: The revival of Jewish Studies in St. Petersburg and the search for Russia’s “unaffiliated Jews”
Author(s): Reed, Andrew C.
Date: 2013
Topics: Assimilation, Jewish Revival, Jewish Organisations, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Affiliation and Belonging, Jewish Studies, Universities / Higher Education, Jewish Education, Main Topic: Education, Outreach
Abstract: Twentieth-century events in Russia and Eastern Europe resulted in complex definitions of Jewish identity and communal relations. When the Soviet Union disbanded, foreign agencies pushed funds and resources to rebuild Jewish communities and institutions. One of the avenues for this funding is the creation and support of academic research centers responsible for training students and scholars. Organizations interested in Russia’s “unaffiliated Jews” and the research centers responsible for the revival of Jewish Studies form unique partnerships that bridge academic and public arenas. Reclaiming Jews who do not identify with Judaism or Jewish culture (unaffiliated Jews) in Russia is a significant goal of some Jewish funding agencies in the United States and Israel. An examination of mission statements by these philanthropic agencies reveals narrow definitions of “Jews” that ignore major contributions from Jewish Studies scholars focused on understanding a diverse population with disparate self-understandings.
Haunting images: stereotypes of Jewishness among Russian Jewish immigrants in Germany
Author(s): Roberman, Sveta
Date: 2012
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Russian-Speaking Jews, Jewish Revival, Jewish Identity, Jewish Organisations, Immigration, Jewish Continuity, Gemeinden, Jewish Space, Stereotypes
Abstract: Glancing at the Jewish spaces in contemporary Germany, an occasional observer would probably be startled. Since the Russian Jewish migration of the 1990s, Germany's Jewish community has come to be the third-largest in Europe. Synagogues, Jewish community centres, and Jewish cultural events have burgeoned. There is even talk about a “Jewish renaissance” in Germany. However, many immigrants claim that the resurrection of Jewish life in Germany is “only a myth,” “an illusion.” This paper is part of a project exploring the processes of the reconstruction of Jewish identities and Jewish communal life by Russian Jewish immigrants in Germany. The focus of this paper is on the stereotypes of Jews and Jewishness evident in immigrants' perceptions and imaginings of their physical gathering spaces – the Jewish community centres (Gemeinden). Focusing on the images that haunt a particular place, I seek to shed light upon the difficulties of re/creating Jewish identity and life among the Russian Jewish immigrants in contemporary Germany.
Jewish Peoplehood in Hungary: a Challenge and an Opportunity
Author(s): Balazs, Gabor; Cernov, Mircea
Date: 2012
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Leadership, Jewish Community, Jewish Revival, Jewish Peoplehood, Jewish Organisations
Abstract:

The lack of leadership in the Jewish community in Hungary prevents an obstacle to the promotion of Jewish peoplehood as a focal point for developing the community of tomorrow. The Hungarian Jewish community suffers from a weak and ineffective structure and a lack of leadership. Nevertheless, the last decade has witnessed a revival of Jewish life in Hungary, with a particular focus on Jewish peoplehood. This focus is both a challenge and an opportunity for the Jewish community in Hungary.
The Transmission of the Jewish Past in France Through the Prism of Community Organizations
Author(s): Assan, Valérie
Date: 2017
Topics: Main Topic: Culture and Heritage, Jewish Organisations, Memory, Jewish Heritage, Jewish History
Abstract: This article intends to study community organizations in France that have the aim of preserving and transmitting the history of Jews. Community organizations have been an object of study for sociologists for several decades, but only recently did historians, ethnologists, and political scientists begin studying them as players in “memory policies.” The following contribution offers insights and landmarks for an emerging research framework, in the hope that the study of the organization-based transmission of Jewish heritage will be a useful addition to an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between history and memory.