Rabbis and Jewish Leaders Join Birobidzhan Dialogue on Community, Family, Education and Tradition
Rabbis, Jewish educators and community leaders from across Russia took part in a series of meetings and educational programs in Birobidzhan during the XIV International Festival of Jewish Culture and Arts, focusing on Jewish education, family life, cultural heritage and opportunities for future cooperation.
Among the participants were Rabbi Yonatan Feldman, Head of the Education Department of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR); Rabbi Michoel Stavropolsky, head of the YAHAD Jewell Jewish youth club in Moscow; Rabbi Ovadia Isakov, Rabbi of Derbent and the Republic of Dagestan; Rabbi Yakov Snetkov, Chief Rabbi of the Far Eastern Federal District and Rabbi of Khabarovsk; Rabbi Efraim Kolpak, Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Autonomous Region; and Mr. Igor Dabakarov, Executive Vice President of the Federal Jewish National-Cultural Autonomy (FENKA).
During the festival, the visiting Jewish leaders met with Governor of the Jewish Autonomous Region Maria Kostyuk to discuss possible areas of cooperation between Jewish organizations across Russia and the region. The conversation included educational and cultural initiatives, youth exchanges, museum and tourism projects, and efforts to preserve and share the Jewish heritage of the Jewish Autonomous Region. At the conclusion of the meeting, the governor presented commemorative gifts to the visiting participants.
Jewish perspectives were also represented at the interregional scientific and practical conference, โThe Institution of the Family in the Jewish Autonomous Region: Dialogue of Cultures and Preservation of Traditions.โ The conference brought together educators, researchers and community representatives to discuss the role of family, education and the transmission of traditions between generations.
Rabbi Yonatan Feldman addressed the conference, while Rabbi Chezi Lazar and students from the Jewish University in Moscow joined by video link and presented their papers remotely.
