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Euroasian Jewish News
Jewish Communities Promote Peace Between Russia and Japan.
01.11.2006
 Despite of the sociological reports and poll results that predict decline in the number of "native residents" of the Jewish Autonomous Region in the Russian Far East, the community life in the regional capital Birobidjan is continuing to develop. Another proof of this fact was a recent visit to the region by a delegation of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress headed by EAJC General Council member, Jewish Community of Japan President Daniel Turk.
The delegation presented the city Jewish Community Beit-Tshoova (KEROOR) with a Torah scroll which was made 130 years ago and suffered many hardships before being restored by the American organization Save a Torah, Inc. on the order of the EAJC and the Japanese Jewry.
Speaking during the ceremony of bringing the scroll into the synagogue of the Birobidjan Community Daniel Turk expressed his special gratitude to one of the leaders of the Save a Torah group, Menachem Youlus, as well as the head of the Beit-Tshoova Community rabbi Dov Kofman and said that before the arrival to Birobidjan the Torah was kept in Tokyo.
"This scroll witnesses, together with us, the Japanese Jews' special way of life as they remained faithful to the traditions of the People of Israel in the country of the rising sun. And the fact that its new home will now be here is a symbol of our friendship with our Far Eastern neighbors,in particular, with the Birobidjan Jewish Community which we have been helping since 2003 when we arrived here as part of the EAJC first delegation".
The synagogue ceremony was attended by such honorary guests as Consul-General of Japan at Khabarovsk Takashi Osanai and JAR Vice-Governor Valery Gurevich. Among other guests were Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Representative Alexander Gubarev, the head of the International Directorate of the JAR government Boris Kats, Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) Head of Khabarovsk Branch Raffael Heltzer, Freid Jewish Community (FEOR) Chairman Lev Toytman and its rabbi Mordekhai Shainer.
After that, the EAJC delegation held a reception meeting in the Menorah hall which was the final of a string of celebrations opened a meeting with JAR Vice-Governor Gurevich in the regional administration office followed by an official dinner with him. Vice-Governor and the Consul-General exchanged toasts during the dinner.
Apart from that, the Japanese Jews visited a regional museum and a number of Jewish organizations, including the Hava women's club and the national kindergarten where they presented a digital camera to the staff. The daughter of Todd Walzer, one of the leaders of the Jewish Community of Japan, for the first time met her friend with whom she was exchanging letters since 2003.
When delegation members visited Khabarovsk, where they landed on their flight from Tokyo, they visited the city synagogue and observed the work of the local branch of the JAFI. When commenting on the Far Eastern mission of his colleagues, the EAJC President Alexander Machkevitch noted its positive significance for the development of the international relations in the Asia-Pacific Region as a whole.
"The cooperation between the Japanese and the Russian Jewry is a significant contribution into overcoming negative stereotypes that appeared in the relations between the two countries during the Cold War period, Machkevich stressed. "This is a real people's diplomacy sanctified by the Holy Torah commandments and it can become a good example for other states of the region. And we see our task it continuing to render such support."
MOSNEWS.COM
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