Moscow, Russia – Senior American congressman Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, visited the Moscow's Jewish community center while paying a visit to Russia. In a meeting with Russia's chief rabbi Berel Lazar, the two discussed issues affecting the growth of the Russian Jewry while praising continued governmental support and growth efforts of the community. They also discussed the removal of Russia from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment which denied normal trade relations between the US and Russia, and was put into place because of restrictions on Jewish community members right to emigrate during the soviet regime.
U.S. Congressman Visits Jewish Community Center in Moscow
Moscow, Russia – Senior American congressman Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, visited the Moscow’s Jewish community center while paying a visit to Russia. In a meeting with Russia’s chief rabbi Berel Lazar, the two discussed issues affecting the growth of the Russian Jewry while praising continued governmental support and growth efforts of the community. They also discussed the removal of Russia from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment which denied normal trade relations between the US and Russia, and was put into place because of restrictions on Jewish community members right to emigrate during the soviet regime.
Lantos, a former German concentration camp prisoner, voiced an optimistic view of the Russian authorities for their contributions to the growth of religious communities in recent years. Lantos stressed that intranational support was especially important after the decades of Anti-Semitism in the USSR. Yet, the congressman was most impressed by the dozens of young couples and children all looking to learn about Judaism from the MJCC. “It’s a true miracle,” Lantos said about his visit. “I would have never believed that this is possible, unless I saw it with my own eyes. I spent many years fighting for the rights of Soviet Jews, and saw tears in the eyes of the people – now I see happiness.”
The Congressmen was joined by Mr. Jack Rosen the Chairman of the American Jewish Congress and the Council for World Jewry and Avraham Berkowitz the Executive Director of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS.
