European Jewish Fund
Encyclopedia
The European Jewish Fund (EJF) is an international non-governmental organisation that coordinates and supports programmes and events aimed at improving interreligious and interethnic relations, reinforcing Jewish national identity, counteracting assimilation
, promoting tolerance
and reconciliation in Europe
, fighting against xenophobia
, extremism
and anti-Semitism
, and preserving Holocaust memories. The EJF was established in 2006 on the initiative of Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
, who is President of the European Jewish Congress
and EJF Chairman. Arie Zuckerman is EJF Secretary General.
The Fund is structured as two chambers: the Chamber of Community Leaders (or Executive Council) and the Board of Governors. The EJF’s activities are supported by:
The Executive Council consists of representatives from European Jewish communities.
The EJF implements local, regional and pan-European
projects initiated by both individual communities and the Fund itself. The EJF’s main goal is to implement large-scale programmes aimed at disseminating tolerance
on the European continent, strengthening mutual respect among representatives of all nationalities and faiths, reinforcing Jews’ cultural pride and counteracting assimilation
. The EJF actively fights xenophobia
, anti-Semitism
and racial discrimination and develops proposals and recommendations on reinforcing the fight against these negative phenomena of the modern world.
Educational programmes to preserve Holocaust memories: It is no surprise that one of the founders of the European Jewish Fund in 2006 was the World Holocaust Forum Foundation
, a key organiser of “Let My People Live!” World Forums held in 2005 and 2006 in Krakow
(Poland
) and Kiev
(Ukraine
). These major events were aimed at illustrating the importance of Holocaust remembrance and Holocaust education for the younger generation to prevent the Catastrophe from recurring in the future. The EJF is expected to be a co-organiser of the third World Forum scheduled for 2010 in New York
(U.S.). Other Holocaust memory initiatives: publishing The Countdown, a photo album, releasing the documentaries Whisper in die Kristallnacht and The World after Auschwitz.
Publicising the achievements of outstanding individuals of Jewish origin: in order to reduce the level of anti-Semitism
, xenophobia
and nationalism
in Europe
. The EJF supports the Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery
, containing a collection of works by famous Russian artists of Jewish origin including Valentin Serov
, Leon Bakst
, Marc Chagall
, El Lissitzky
and Chaim Soutine
.
Promoting nuclear non-proliferation and preventing a nuclear Holocaust: The EJF supports the activities of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe
, which consists of prominent political and public figures, diplomats and nuclear experts. The EJF’s leadership believes that the Iranian nuclear programme is one of the major threats to global security today.
Providing a platform for reinforcing relations between European Jewish communities: As part of the work of the Executive Council, the Fund’s sponsors and representatives from European communities meet to exchange opinions. They present proposals for specific charity and educational programmes and discuss ways to increase the level of tolerance
on the continent.
The Fund actively participated in the organisation of the European Week of Tolerance, held in large European cities on November 9–16, 2008. This series of events marked both the International Day for Tolerance
and the 70th anniversary of die Kristallnacht
. Within the framework of the European Week of Tolerance, prominent leaders, business people and scholars came together for a series of meetings. The European Parliament
and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
were presented with the draft European Framework Convention on Promoting Tolerance and Combating Intolerance and the Concept for a White Paper on Tolerance.
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
, promoting tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
and reconciliation in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, fighting against xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
, extremism
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
and anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, and preserving Holocaust memories. The EJF was established in 2006 on the initiative of Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor is a prominent public figure, businessman and philanthropist who actively participates in the promotion of tolerance and reconciliation in the modern world. He is also engaged in discussing and elaborating ways to stop nuclear proliferation and prevent a nuclear catastrophe...
, who is President of the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
and EJF Chairman. Arie Zuckerman is EJF Secretary General.
The Fund is structured as two chambers: the Chamber of Community Leaders (or Executive Council) and the Board of Governors. The EJF’s activities are supported by:
- Viatcheslav Moshe KantorViatcheslav Moshe KantorViatcheslav Moshe Kantor is a prominent public figure, businessman and philanthropist who actively participates in the promotion of tolerance and reconciliation in the modern world. He is also engaged in discussing and elaborating ways to stop nuclear proliferation and prevent a nuclear catastrophe...
; - Mikhail Bezelyansky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hypercenter Company;
- Yuriy Kanner, President of the Russian Jewish CongressRussian Jewish CongressThe Russian Jewish Congress is a non-profit charitable fund and the largest secular organisation of Russian Jews. It was established in 1996 by the initiative group of the Jewish businessmen, active workers and religious figures for revival of the Jewish life in Russia...
; - Ronald P. Stanton, Chairman of Yeshiva UniversityYeshiva UniversityYeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
’s Board of Trustees; - Mikhail FridmanMikhail FridmanMikhail Maratovich Fridman is a Jewish Russian businessman. Mr. Fridman graduated from Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys in 1986. In 1988 Fridman started his career in trading and financial services before founding Alfa Group Consortium in 1989...
, Chairman of the Alfa Group Supervisory Board; - German KhanGerman KhanGerman Borisovich Khan is a Russian businessman with interests in the oil and gas industries. He studied at the . When Alfa Group took over oil giant TNK, it was Khan who was chosen to run the operation...
, TNK-BPTNK-BPTNK-BP is a major vertically integrated Russian oil company. It is Russia's third largest oil producer and among the ten largest private oil companies in the world. TNK-BP is Russia's third largest oil company in terms of reserves and crude oil production...
Executive Director.
The Executive Council consists of representatives from European Jewish communities.
The EJF implements local, regional and pan-European
Pan-European
Pan-European can refer to:*Pan-European identity*International Paneuropean Union, a European unification group*Honda ST series motorcycles, sold as the Pan-European in the UK and Europe...
projects initiated by both individual communities and the Fund itself. The EJF’s main goal is to implement large-scale programmes aimed at disseminating tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
on the European continent, strengthening mutual respect among representatives of all nationalities and faiths, reinforcing Jews’ cultural pride and counteracting assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
. The EJF actively fights xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
, anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and racial discrimination and develops proposals and recommendations on reinforcing the fight against these negative phenomena of the modern world.
Projects
The Fund’s activities fall into four categories.Educational programmes to preserve Holocaust memories: It is no surprise that one of the founders of the European Jewish Fund in 2006 was the World Holocaust Forum Foundation
World Holocaust Forum
The World Holocaust Forum is a series of high-profile events targeted at preserving memories of Holocaust atrocities and the other tragic events of World War II...
, a key organiser of “Let My People Live!” World Forums held in 2005 and 2006 in Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
(Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
(Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). These major events were aimed at illustrating the importance of Holocaust remembrance and Holocaust education for the younger generation to prevent the Catastrophe from recurring in the future. The EJF is expected to be a co-organiser of the third World Forum scheduled for 2010 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(U.S.). Other Holocaust memory initiatives: publishing The Countdown, a photo album, releasing the documentaries Whisper in die Kristallnacht and The World after Auschwitz.
Publicising the achievements of outstanding individuals of Jewish origin: in order to reduce the level of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The EJF supports the Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery
Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery
The Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery is a continually renewed collection of hundreds of artworks, including paintings by famous Russian artists of Jewish origin, photographs, masterpieces of sculpture and graphic design. MAGMA’s collection includes works by Valentin Serov, Leon Bakst, Marc Chagall,...
, containing a collection of works by famous Russian artists of Jewish origin including Valentin Serov
Valentin Serov
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov was a Russian painter, and one of the premier portrait artists of his era.-Youth and education:...
, Leon Bakst
Léon Bakst
Léon Samoilovitch Bakst was a Russian painter and scene- and costume designer. He was a member of the Sergei Diaghilev circle and the Ballets Russes, for which he designed exotic, richly coloured sets and costumes...
, Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, El Lissitzky
El Lissitzky
, better known as El Lissitzky , was a Russian artist, designer, photographer, typographer, polemicist and architect. He was an important figure of the Russian avant garde, helping develop suprematism with his mentor, Kazimir Malevich, and designing numerous exhibition displays and propaganda works...
and Chaim Soutine
Chaim Soutine
Chaïm Soutine was a Jewish painter from Belarus. Soutine made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living in Paris....
.
Promoting nuclear non-proliferation and preventing a nuclear Holocaust: The EJF supports the activities of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe
International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe
The International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe — is an international non-governmental organisation uniting leading world-renowned experts on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, materials and delivery vehicles.The Forum was established pursuant to a decision passed by the...
, which consists of prominent political and public figures, diplomats and nuclear experts. The EJF’s leadership believes that the Iranian nuclear programme is one of the major threats to global security today.
Providing a platform for reinforcing relations between European Jewish communities: As part of the work of the Executive Council, the Fund’s sponsors and representatives from European communities meet to exchange opinions. They present proposals for specific charity and educational programmes and discuss ways to increase the level of tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
on the continent.
The Fund actively participated in the organisation of the European Week of Tolerance, held in large European cities on November 9–16, 2008. This series of events marked both the International Day for Tolerance
International Day for Tolerance
The International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is observed on 16 November...
and the 70th anniversary of die Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
. Within the framework of the European Week of Tolerance, prominent leaders, business people and scholars came together for a series of meetings. The European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
were presented with the draft European Framework Convention on Promoting Tolerance and Combating Intolerance and the Concept for a White Paper on Tolerance.
See also
- European Jewish CongressEuropean Jewish CongressThe European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
- International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear CatastropheInternational Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear CatastropheThe International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe — is an international non-governmental organisation uniting leading world-renowned experts on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, materials and delivery vehicles.The Forum was established pursuant to a decision passed by the...
- World Holocaust ForumWorld Holocaust ForumThe World Holocaust Forum is a series of high-profile events targeted at preserving memories of Holocaust atrocities and the other tragic events of World War II...
- Museum of Avant-Garde MasteryMuseum of Avant-Garde MasteryThe Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery is a continually renewed collection of hundreds of artworks, including paintings by famous Russian artists of Jewish origin, photographs, masterpieces of sculpture and graphic design. MAGMA’s collection includes works by Valentin Serov, Leon Bakst, Marc Chagall,...
- Viatcheslav Moshe KantorViatcheslav Moshe KantorViatcheslav Moshe Kantor is a prominent public figure, businessman and philanthropist who actively participates in the promotion of tolerance and reconciliation in the modern world. He is also engaged in discussing and elaborating ways to stop nuclear proliferation and prevent a nuclear catastrophe...