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Euroasian Jewish News
The 3rd General Assembly of European Jews began their work in Budapest, Hungary. This session was organized by the European Coun
20.05.2004
 The 3rd General Assembly of European Jews began their work in Budapest, Hungary. This session was organized by the European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC), and the American Jewish Joint Distributive Committee ("Joint"), celebrating its 90th anniversary was included in the agenda of the Forum.
Discussions of European Jews future in light of the recent EU enlargement, including questions on counteraction to so-called “new anti-Semitism” and anti-Israeli propagation from Western to Eastern Europe are to become main themes of the Assembly.
Participants of the Assembly generally represent Jewish Diaspora of the EU and its neighbors. The delegation from the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) – the largest Jewish organization on the continent – represents the CIS countries, Bulgaria, and the Asia-Pacific region. Fedor Ossinin (Kazakhstan), EAJC Executive Vice-President, Mikhail Chlenov (Russia), EACJ General Secretary, and Josef Zisels (Ukraine), EAJC General Council Chairman, headed the delegation.
Mikhail Chlenov stated, that in his speech to the Assembly, he wants to attract the attention of the Forum participants to various types of self-identification typical to Jews of the CIS and EU.
"Different approaches to the definition of Jewish identity have been forming for centuries and were evident even in comparisons of the Central and Baltic regions of the former USSR. Therefore, it is hardly probable, that relations between Jews of the CIS and European Union will differ radically from our contacts with the Jewish communities of America or Africa," – Mikhail Chlenov emphasized.
Commenting on the visit of the EAJC delegation to Hungary, Alexander Machkevich, President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, and leader of the Kazakhstan Jewish Diaspora, noted the fact that the Budapest summit, with the participation of delegations representing the new EU-neighbors, means that Europeans, and European Jews in particular, are ready for various forms of dialogue with all states of Eurasia.
"It seems that the Europeans are ready not only to teach, but also to study our culture of mutual understanding and tolerance. Especially when it concerns such delicate topics as "the Jewish question," the EAJC leader declared.
lenta.ru
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