Briefing from Asher Ostrin - October 24, 2008

Below is a briefing from Asher Ostrin, Executive Director of JDC Programs in the Former Soviet Union. In this briefing, Asher looks at how the current global economic situation has affected Jewish communities of Former Soviet Union countries.

Dear all,

We all know the stories about the Jewish grandmother combing the obituary section of the newspaper each day to see whom among those mentioned was a Jew. Each loss was taken personally- a nodding of the head and a clucking of the tongue as the Jewish People lost another soul.

The next step was to turn back to the news section and filter all news, local or national, critical or comical, through a Jewish lens: "is it good or bad for the Jews?" More often than not, the initial interpretation was the latter, not necessarily based on any objective criteria. (Latent anti Semitism could even be found in decisions of municipalities to require walking dogs on a leash- but that will be the subject of another briefing).

And so we come to the current financial crisis- and the question for this briefing: "How will it impact the Jews of the former Soviet Union?" I'll try and tackle this region by region, because although there are some things that impact all of the communities, there are also subtle differences. While in some instances I will refer to macro economic trends, I do not pretend to be an expert on these and only give them where they are relevant to the situation of the Jews and Jewish communities.


1. Russia
Here, there are three macro factors at play that brought about the current situation. In Russia, the vulnerability of the economy predated the September events. Already in August, as a direct result of the incursion into Georgia, the Russian economy suffered a blow. International investors froze a number of key projects because of their assessment that the Russian actions bode ill for a stable and liberalizing economy, which caused a dramatic downturn in the local stock market (which had enjoyed incredible gains over the last three years).

The second important factor is the global crisis, which has hurt local oligarchs. Commodities in which they specialize are losing value, and the general world economic downturn, depressing demand and therefore prices, has hit them hard. Finally, and most critically, the Russian economy has been hard hit by the erosion of the price of oil. Depending on who you believe, the economic forecasts and 2008/2009 budgets were predicated on a minimum price of oil anywhere between 60 and 70 dollars per barrel. The current price is scraping this level.

Now, for the Jews.

a. There are few oligarchs supporting JDC programs directly, and where they are, the impact is not significant. However, we need to remember that JDC is not involved in every aspect of community life. The two key areas in which we are not directly involved are religious life (synagogues), and formal education (schools).

Support for local Jewish schools comes primarily from sources abroad. There are three main streams- Habad is the largest, followed by non Habad religious schools, and a secular school system. There is some local support for the schools, but in most instances they receive the lion's share of funding from sources outside of the FSU. This funding has constricted to a considerable degree due to the general crisis. Or Avner, funded by Lev Leviev, has informed its network that for now funding is frozen, which has caused an enormous cash flow problem. While Leviev is not the only funder for this system, his is the largest single gift. Teachers are paid very late, if at all. The other two systems are also experiencing difficulties, which are expected to grow as the full, impact of the crisis hits.

The schools in the periphery are the ones that suffer the most, as they are generally the ones most reliant on foreign sources. During the first few months of the school year most will survive. However, reserves will be eaten away by January, and barring a dramatic improvement of the situation, I expect that schools will close in the spring. At the very least, this will be the last school year for some institutions.

The situation with Jewish schools applies across the FSU in equal measure.

The same is true for synagogues. In the large cities these will do fine. However, in the periphery they will suffer. This is a very big blow for communities. Synagogues in smaller communities serve several functions. They are generally the only communal property in a community. Thus, community events- holiday celebrations, community meetings, etc. often take place there. They often have small budgets to provide welfare services to Jews ineligible for Hesed support- e.g. a 45 year old who is unemployed. In locales in which the rabbi is community minded, the synagogue plays an important role in community life.

b. It is likely that a protracted crisis in the Russian economy will cause cutbacks in the state budget. If past experience is any indication, this means that social services will be reduced. This will affect both our elderly clients and children at risk.

c. A growth in unemployment is to be expected. The big question is how this will affect the middle class who are the backbone of the fee for service programs we have instituted in JCCs. In discussions with some of the people in this category in St Petersburg- people who are paying considerable sums to send their children to the Yesod pre school program- they said that for now they are confident that things will continue. They do not see cutbacks in the private sector for now, at least in the major centers. All will have to wait and see.

In sum, the Russia piece is problematic, but more in terms of what is expected than actual changes to date. This is not the case in Ukraine.


2. Ukraine
Here, the impact of the crisis is already being felt. Perhaps this is because the crisis in the Ukrainian economy began more than 6 months ago, for a host of reasons, not relevant to this discussion. The banking system is not regulated in the way that banks in the west are, and several intermediate size banks failed in the last 6 months.

(At this point a note of interest regarding JDC's activities. When the ruble collapsed in 1998 a series of banks throughout the FSU folded in its wake. We learned several lessons from those events. We spread out our holdings in local banks, and do not keep large amounts of cash in our accounts, to minimize our exposure. This is true in all of the major centers in which we work. Recently we began even limiting the exposure further by transferring smaller amounts of cash more frequently).

In addition to the material presented above, the Ukraine situation has further complications. Credit has completely dried up. The situation is exacerbated by a prolonged (going on 4 years) political crisis that has paralyzed the decision making apparatus at all levels.

a. The Hesed system is a major consumer of commodities. It buys large amounts of food and medicines. The supply of these items has continued uninterrupted. A number of suppliers have requested payment in cash so as not to be involved with the banking system and its attendant risks, but they have produced the ordered goods. This could change, especially with respect to imported medicines if the credit crunch and unstable currency continues.

b. Much of our Jewish renewal programming contains an element of fees for services. This is especially true in JCCs, family camps, preschools, and more. If discretionary funds of middle class families become limited due to the failure of small and intermediate size businesses, there will be fallout in this system.

c. Local donations are not a major part of Hesed budgets, but in some instances there is money available from local donors. In one community in eastern Ukraine a Hesed built a 2007 budget predicated on 15,000 USD of local donations. When that goal was met, they increased their 08 target by 15%. They will be fortunate to bring in half of that this year. This is money for non Nazi victims. While the overall percentage of the budget lost will not cause real hardship, there is a psychological blow.

d. Ukraine has an interesting phenomenon of local oligarchs who create Jewish organizations to serve as a platform to advance their own, often political, agendas. These organizations do not do very much. They generally sponsor a newspaper (often complementing the NY Times, in that the Times offers "all the news that's fit to print", and these papers everything else). In addition, they run annual congresses in which Jewish delegates from around Ukraine get to spend a few days in a nice setting in return for their support of the oligarch's concerns of the day. The disappearance of these organizations (at least 7 in number at last count) will be lamented by few, but they often do serve a purpose: there is positive, high profile publicity for the Jewish community during these events. Again, the damage by their disappearance is more perceived than real.

e. Ukraine has an inordinate number of small organizations in local Jewish communities. Almost every medium sized community has a Holocaust museum, and there are other small organizations- Maccabi, and others. These will inevitably by effected, and many will be victims of the crisis.


3. Other FSU Countries
As for other FSU areas, they are generally "blessed" with strong government involvement in the economy that cushions locals from the impact, and/or have underdeveloped private sectors that mean there is little discretionary money or private investment to be lost, with a minimal concomitant impact on communal life.

There is one country that is the exception to the descriptions above. Its political system is not autocratic, so one would expect manifestations of the problems as we see in Russia and Ukraine. But they do not exist. It does have other problems- a serious issue with internal refugees and contested borders, but it is awash with cash. Credit is not a problem- there is cash and lots of it as a result of events there this summer. American money, European money, IMF, World Bank – and many others have contributed billions to this small country to ensure its rehabilitation after a nasty encounter with its neighbor to the north. The mouse that roared! That's all I'll say- I leave the guessing as to identity up to each of the readers.

Of course it is too early to predict the total effect of what is happening around the world. However, it is clear that we will shortly be facing a new reality in the FSU. JDC's role will grow- while we may have to make budget adjustments, there will be fewer players in the FSU, and the responsibility will be greater. We will have to see if any of our current programs will need to offset closures in other fields. For example- we will not move into formal Jewish education- but what impact will the closing of schools have on our informal education program (JCCs?). Will the goals of the fee for service program have to be adjusted, and if so, at the expense of what other programs?

To be determined.

Asher

JDC Ambassadors Circle Global Symposium

An exclusive briefing opportunity on the status of Jewish communities and JDC’s work around the world

December 8-9, 2008 – New York City

Learn About:

• Israel Today: Working in partnership to provide dignity, care and hope for Israel’s future
• Jews in the Former Soviet Union: Assisting the world’s poorest Jews and ensuring a Jewish future for all
• Georgia/South Ossetia: Dramatic rescue and relief efforts for those caught in the crossfire
• Next Generation of Jewish Community Life: Where we stand today and what we hope for tomorrow
• Myanmar and China: JDC’s humanitarian non-sectarian work
  

The Program Includes:
December 8: Dinner with Steve Schwager, CEO and Executive Vice President of JDC
December 9: A full day of briefings
Breakfast and Lunch provided

Couvert: $150 per person**

** The cost of meals and program-related expenses provided in this symposium are not tax-deductible in order to ensure that the needs of those we serve are met to the fullest. JDC prides itself on the efficient and ethical allocation of charitable donations in fulfilling our mission.

RSVP to Rachel Rosenthal at (212) 885-0876 or email ambassadors@jdc.org

Search and Rescue – On the Ground in Georgia

When the Russia/Georgia conflict erupted on August 7, JDC’s expertise and long history in rescuing Jews in times of crisis enabled us to mobilize our resources and respond immediately. We were one of the first agencies on the ground and, in some areas, the only agency present. Shauli Dritter, Director of Field Operations for JDC in the Former Soviet Union, was one of the eight staff members who arrived in Georgia on August 8 to join our local team already in the region. He was deployed to the Russian town of Vladikavkaz to seek out and assist Jewish refugees who may have escaped from Georgia and South Ossetia on their own.

Shauli recently gave a firsthand account of our rescue operations and shared what happened while on the ground in the war zone. The following is a summary of his report:

There was an initial 72-hour window in which to pull Jews out of the conflict zones and to areas of safety. During these first days there was much confusion, allowing JDC staff members to get in and get out of the area easily and without many obstacles from either Georgian or Russian forces. We knew we had to act quickly and efficiently to ensure that all Jews who were in danger were taken to safety.

Knowing that refugees would flee further into Georgia as well as into Russia, two JDC command posts were established, one in each country. Shauli and Yitzhak Averbuch were sent to the Russian city of Vladikavkaz in order to coordinate efforts from that side of the border. JDC-sponsored Hesed Assistance Centers in Georgia keep detailed records of Jews living in Georgia and split up those lists amongst staff members. Shauli and Yitzhak were given a list of the names of the 17 Jews living in the city of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia near the Russian border, a city that was virtually destroyed by ongoing attacks from both sides.

Upon entering Tskhinvali, the two began questioning people in order to locate all the names of the elderly on their list. Shauli was speaking with locals when he heard shouting nearby. Yitzhak was taken into custody by members of the South Ossetia militia wanting to see his papers, thinking he may be a spy. Rather than leave his colleague to militia members, Shauli also turned himself into their custody. Both men were in possession of cell phones as well as satellite phones (a fact that did not help convince the militiamen that they were not spies but rather representatives of a non-governmental relief organization).

After what seemed like hours of questioning, both Shauli and Yitzhak were handed over to Russian intelligence agents, a fortuitous move for the fate of our directors, as the Russian government and intelligence agents are familiar with JDC and the work that we do all over Russia. After some more questioning, both Shauli and Yitzhak were released and ordered to leave the area.

Throughout the rest of that day, Shauli and Yitzhak searched throughout the refugee camps and Tskhinvali, and 16 out of the 17 people on the list were located, taken to safety and provided with basic necessities, including food, water, and shelter. However, one woman, Rosa Rivka, was still missing.


Rosa Rivka is a homebound 97-year-old woman who lives alone and relies on JDC's aid for hot meals and medicine. They knew she would not be able to survive on her own. After an intense search, Shauli and the rest of JDC’s rescue workers discovered her two days later, huddled in her kitchen—the only room in her apartment that had not been destroyed by the constant attacks. Terrified, hungry, and in need of her medicine, Rosa Rivka refused to leave her kitchen, where she had been sleeping for days. JDC gave her food, water, and much-needed medication and convinced her to move out of her bombed apartment and into a safer space. JDC staff will make certain that Rivka has what she needs as the days progress.

According to Shauli, this is the essence of JDC: one Jew was waiting for us and we were there for her in her time of need.

With their mission in Tskhinvali complete, both Shauli and Yitzhak returned to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in order to assist with search and rescue operations in other areas of the conflict which lied within an hour’s drive from the capital. Their priority was to find a way to safely enter and exit the conflict zone in their search for Jews, particularly around the city of Gori, where it was almost impossible to gain entry. In order to find a way around this obstacle, Shauli worked with the Georgian Red Cross, which already had access to the conflict zones in order to distribute aid to refugees.

Because of our partnership with the Red Cross formed by Shauli, JDC’s search and rescue team had full access to the conflict zone around Gori. In fact, JDC had far more access than journalists and foreign correspondents trying to report on the situation. Shauli and his colleagues became a source of information for other relief agencies about what was actually happening around the city of Gori.

They traveled into the area with the Red Cross, transported the sick and wounded out of the area, and brought in doctors and other medical personnel to relieve those who had been working tirelessly since the conflict began.

JDC is currently working to help rebuild homes and relocate Jewish refugees, and is beginning non-sectarian humanitarian programs in the region to help those affected by the conflict.

Update from Steve Schwager, CEO and Executive Vice President

Africa and Asia hold some of the most historical, beautiful, and unique Jewish communities in the JDC world. The region also is home to countries that face our most diverse challenges for ensuring their secure futures, maintaining their social service agencies, and supporting their varied Jewish community lives through Jewish education, lay and professional training, and networking with other communities. My focus today is on the breadth and scope of our endeavors in this vast and varied JDC area.

JDC’s work in the Africa/Asia region is an excellent example of how we put our global operating principles into action. Despite the small numbers of Jews residing in these countries, JDC continues to reach them wherever they choose to live. And because we are both apolitical and pluralistic, we are able to help these Jews to thrive as peacefully as possible in the region’s moderate Muslim countries, while always respecting the Jewish community’s various religious beliefs and viewpoints. The role we play in these Jewish communities and the new directions now being explored for them will allow for their improved and more self-sufficient future.

Turkey
Turkey has a vibrant and active Jewish community with a history of relative financial stability and a rich tradition of Jewish education and caring. JDC's involvement in the Turkish Jewish community dates back during World War I, when our services included financial assistance to the neediest Jews, soup kitchens in the Jewish quarters, and a special fund for emergency assistance. In the years that followed, when nearly 2,000 Jewish orphans were registered in the country, JDC supported every child in an orphan asylum in Istanbul, ensuring that those left behind by the ravages of war could live a decent life.

Today, JDC support complements the community’s remarkable, volunteer-run educational and welfare programs by providing technical assistance that 1) enhances the community’s lay leadership engagement and trains professionals and 2) helps develop programs for weaker members who may be adversely affected by changing socioeconomic developments. JDC has also advanced many creative non-sectarian initiatives targeting some of the most vulnerable groups in Turkey. These programs, rooted in our belief in tikkun olam (repairing the world), reflect positively on the Jewish community and strengthen its value and acceptance as a minority in this predominantly Muslim country.

India



In stark contrast to Turkey is India, where JDC has been assisting the Jewish population since discovering in 1961 that there were native Jewish groups, such as the Bene Israel, who were in dire need of help. Our current programs run the gamut from helping the elderly and the destitute in their daily survival to creating cultural and educational programs for youth and adults.

One flagship program is the Jewish Youth Pioneers (JYP), based in Mumbai’s Evelyn Peters Jewish Community Center. This uniquely Indian-Jewish youth group spans ages 15-27 and spearheads a range of activities for themselves and the community. One such event is KhaiFest—a communitywide Hanukkah gathering where Bollywood meets Jewish tradition and the Pioneers raise funds for community needs including, most recently, the Bayiti Jewish Home for the Aged.

However, since India’s Jewish community lacks the organizational and financial wherewithal to fully fund essential welfare and Jewish education programs on its own, JDC continues to provide most of these basic services for them. But India’s recent impressive economic growth holds promise of a change as those young professionals who are benefiting most from the country's boom take on greater responsibility for community affairs. If we are to help India move towards a more self-sufficient future, we must help them focus on various community building programs, which will include using our expertise in informal Jewish educational programs to encourage them to develop a more systematic approach to Jewish education. So our approach to work in India is two-sided: JDC must still provide essential direct services while we also believe that through appropriate professional and leadership development initiatives, India will be able to take the significant steps toward becoming a more independent Jewish community.

Tunisia
The very traditional Jewish community of Djerba in Tunisia probably dates as far back as the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E. JDC began its work in Tunisia during World War II, primarily providing relief to the Jews of Tunis who were the only community in North Africa to suffer the ravages of war and the Nazi occupation.

Our work in Tunisia greatly escalated in 1949 after a pioneering research visit by Dr. Herman Stein. Working with our French partner organization, Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE), JDC set out to lower the high rate of infant mortality and malnutrition among Tunisia’s Jewish children. Overall, its primary goal was to improve the conditions under which Jews in the region were forced to live, which included the need for more schools, more medical dispensaries and clinics, more child care centers, and more vocational and occupational guidance.

Today, in this entire region, only Djerba is experiencing significant Jewish population growth. Their development, combined with JDC’s recent success in gathering extra-budgetary donations, has enabled this Jewish community to increasingly finance its ever-expanding school system, even as JDC reduces its commitments to Tunisia. The money no longer needed for education is redirected to the needs of the shrinking elderly population in Tunis and to underwrite underfinanced programs elsewhere in the region.

Tunisia is clearly an example of a country with a mixed model. The Jews in both Tunis and Djerba look to JDC for more technical assistance, i.e., bringing in an expert JDC consultant on early childhood education for their preschool programs. This particular aspect of our work has an ironic flavor: Elsewhere in the world, particularly Europe and the FSU, JDC’s responsibility is to bring Jewish tradition back to Jews who, living for generations under Communism, lost contact with their historical roots. By contrast, in the countries of Africa and Asia, it is often JDC that represents the forces of modernity entering the lives of traditional Jews. The series of computer labs for Jewish learning that JDC is introducing into the Jewish schools of Tunis and Djerba—including the yeshiva—are but one example.

In Tunis, there is a gradually declining dependence on JDC for welfare and medical assistance, while in Djerba the community takes care of all of its own welfare needs and covers most of the current operating expenses for their formal Jewish education programs. This growing financial self-sufficiency in both communities strongly influences both the vision and the role of the local lay and professional leadership and enlarges their realm of responsibility. We obviously encourage this process even further by promoting stronger ties through training and exchange programs between Tunisian lay leaders and professionals and their counterparts in other countries around the Mediterranean.

Morocco
Morocco has a thriving Jewish school system alongside an increasingly dependent elderly population.

JDC first came to Morocco during World War II to assist European Jewish refugees. It was only then that JDC realized the desperate situation of the indigenous Moroccan Jewish population—a community that by some accounts traces its roots in the region back to the year 70 C.E. In cooperation with the local leadership, JDC initiated health, education, and clothing and food distribution programs in Casablanca, Agadir, Meknes, Rabat, Tangier, and 13 additional smaller provinces.


Today, Morocco has a vibrant Jewish community with 700 children in Jewish schools. JDC support supplements the resources of the local community, which itself manages all programs and funds 70% of welfare programs, and over 50% of medical and education programs. While JDC has had some success in finding significant local resources to help build the Fred & Velva Levine Community Residence for welfare cases, and local funds help support scholarships for needy Jewish students, the Moroccan Jewish community and JDC are still working hard to develop young leadership and increase fundraising from both within the region and abroad.

Egypt
And finally, I must mention Egypt—perhaps the oldest Jewish community outside Israel in the world. In this declining Jewish community, JDC is playing its traditional role of helping to provide for the members’ welfare and Jewish needs for as long as necessary.

JDC President, Ellen Heller and I are proud that our work in Africa and Asia reinforces JDC’s commitment to serving wherever there are Jews in need. Our work ensures that Jewish communities around the world, no matter how small or remote, will know that they never stand alone.

Welfare Relief in the Former Soviet Union

This short YouTube video brings us into the homes of two families in Russia whose lives were changed by JDC. The video features Mandie Winston, Deputy Director of JDC Moscow and Central Russia, bringing us a very real look at the need for welfare relief in the Former Soviet Union and the impact that assistance has on our clients.

Situation Update: Myanmar

It has been three months since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar on May 2 and 3, 2008. Almost immediately, JDC began collecting funds to assist victims on a non-sectarian basis and JDC personnel were granted entry visas to carry out humanitarian aid efforts. This report is from Amos Avgar, JDC’s Executive Director of the International Development Program, JDC’s department for non-sectarian humanitarian aid, following his most recent trip to the area.

I just returned to Yangon from a three-day field trip to Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta. I traveled with our local YMCA partner to review our current programs and to plan our next intervention. Joining us was a medical doctor who had been involved in the relief efforts and who was hired as a JDC staff member to represent us locally after the Cyclone.

According to UNICEF, approximately 2.5 million people were affected by the May storm, 140,000 are dead, and 700,000 children still need long-term assistance. Hundreds of thousands of people still require housing assistance. But according to the United Nations, housing assistance continues to be a serious challenge since it is difficult to track people throughout the vast area of the Delta.

Devastation is everywhere. The population is extremely dispersed along the riverways, along the dilapidated roads, and in the middle of vast rice fields. Accessibility is only possible for many people via small boats. But rehabilitation is slow: the government is slow to respond and has concentrated its efforts only where its repairs are visible. The majority, therefore, are still neglected and left to the good will and the perseverance of NGOs.

After traveling ten hours by car and six hours by boat, we reached a village whose name means "the fruit at the top of the stream." Totally isolated between small streams and creeks, the village cannot be reached by car. Seventy-six families, or about 300 people, live in the village, which was swept away and destroyed by the Cyclone and the rising waters that followed. The water wave was over 18 feet high, killing 32 adults and 43 children and damaging or destroying virtually all wooden-bamboo homes. The orphans remained in the village with relatives. The residents buried their dead and attended to the wounded as best they could, but the death toll rose higher. The families in this village had virtually nothing before the disaster struck and they have even less now.

In May 2008, JDC sent humanitarian assistance to the village. Now, almost three months after the Cyclone, 41 families are still homeless and the school is totally damaged. We spoke to the village committee and agreed to the following: (1) JDC will continue to provide humanitarian assistance and will provide the materials needed to build the school; (2) the villagers will construct the school themselves; (3) JDC will provide the materials for 41 houses ($120 each) and the villagers will build the homes themselves. They will create a village revolving loan fund, each family giving 5 percent of the donation from JDC each year. And our YMCA partners will be responsible for building a new clinic in the village and providing the equipment needed to operate it.

While we were there, a monk was leading a memorial service for the dead in a small hut that was crowded with over 30 women. On the side stood a little jar where money was collected for the widows. It was very moving to see the villagers themselves be part of the healing process. They were contributing in their own way while JDC, in its traditional role, was there to support them in saving lives and helping transform the village.

We then traveled by boat to another village bordering the sea. Here the people are farmers and fishermen, and their means of making a livelihood were totally destroyed. The farmers lost their crops and could not replant because all embankments were totally destroyed and the fields covered with salt water. The fisherman lost their boats and their nets. JDC is working with a local NGO to help reconstruct the embankments. We are also implementing a micro-financing program, which will allow the fishermen to buy equipment to repair their damaged boats, purchase new ones, and buy fishing nets.

As a brief overview of the trip, I share with you the following:

When I first arrived in Yangon, I met with General Ming, the Deputy Minister for Social Affairs. I reported to him about our work and future plans. This was my second visit with him, my first taking place only a few days after the Cyclone struck. The Minister was very cordial and he commented that, unlike other NGOs, he is happy to see that JDC is still working in the area.

I met with Pact, which was founded in 1971 as a membership organization of US private and voluntary organizations (PVOs) to facilitate distributing small USAID grants to PVOs working in relief and development assistance. We are partnering with them to implement preventive health and livelihood programs. The program coordinator told me that JDC funding enabled them to assist 32,000 people. It has proven to be a very productive partnership.

I also met with International Red Cross (IRC) staff. They are new on the scene, arriving after the Cyclone. I asked their new country representative to send us a proposal in the area of livelihood, and that we will be glad to cooperate.

I had long discussions with the President and Executive Director of the Myanmar Red Cross as well as the country representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. We are planning a joint program with Magen David Adom—the first-ever operations in Myanmar.

We have begun a joint livelihood program with the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), with whom we partnered following the South Asian Tsunami. The representative of AIDMI and I met in Yangon and together with JDC's local representative here, we planned the program and the method of monitoring.

Similarly, with Sarvodaya—our partner in Sri Lanka since the Tsunami—JDC is implementing a feeding program through a local monastery. While I was here, we distributed tons of rice that were given to the victims of the Cyclone. We are using our intervention in Myanmar to both strengthen existing partnerships and increase the capacity of disaster programs of our existing Asian partners.

I had a long discussion with Moses, the head of the Jewish community in Myanmar. With the JDC funds, they finished repairing the damages to the synagogue. The situation of five families, he told me, remains difficult and the cemetery needs additional repair. I left him money for these two purposes.

Red Color Song - Trauma Intervention in Sderot

The Situation:

Since 2000, hundreds of Kassam rockets have struck the Gaza border region, claiming lives, damaging property, undermining businesses and incalculably harming residents' morale and psychological well-being. Normal life has been put on hold and everyone living in the region, from Sderot to Ashkelon, lives in constant fear.

Because the missiles fall daily, the Israeli government developed a warning system called ‘Code Red’ or Tzeva Adom. When a rocket is launched, a voice comes over the loudspeakers throughout the region saying “Tzeva Adom, Tzeva Adom”, “Code Red, Code Red”. At this point people know they have fifteen seconds to seek shelter. Fifteen seconds to stop whatever they are doing and find a place to protect themselves.

The stress of living under such circumstances is immense for an adult, to imagine what it is like for a young child is almost unfathomable. According to studies conducted in the region, 90% of children between the ages of 4-18 exhibit signs of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Children were afraid to go outside, to walk alone to school or even to take a shower, fearing the Code Red alert. They became hysterical at the sound. Often times they were paralyzed with fear and unable to run for shelter.

In order to help children cope with this constant tension, JDC’s Ashalim division, a partnership between JDC, the Israeli Government and the UJA Federation of New York working on behalf of children in Israel, developed a series of therapies, including the Code Red Song. This song, sung when the Code Red alert is sounded, teaches the children what to do when the alarm goes off, but also helps them deal with their emotional reactions to the sound and the situation.

The song combines lyrics that allow the children to express their anxiety and fear with hand and body movements that help distract their minds to something more positive.

JDC distributed CDs of this uplifting children’s song to parents and teachers. The song is taught and used in the schools and has quickly become a source of comfort for the children living in the Southern confrontation zone.

To listen to the song and hear from the children and teachers themselves, please watch the YouTube video above.

The Lyrics: (translated from Hebrew)

Hurry hurry hurry to a safe place
Hurry hurry hurry because it’s dangerous
My heart is beating – boom boom boom
My body is shaking – doom doom doom
But I am overcoming
Cause I am a little bit different

Falling down – boom
We may now stand up
We shake our body - shake shake shake
We loosen our legs - loosen loosen loosen
We will breathe in deep
We will blow out as far as possible
We will breathe in deep
We can laugh
It’s all gone
And I feel good it’s over
Yesssss!

Briefing from Asher Ostrin - September 26, 2008

Below is a briefing from Asher Ostrin, Executive Director of JDC Programs in the Former Soviet Union. Here he shares a story from JDC's past, a first-hand account from Stanley Abromovitch, working with survivors of the Holocaust.

Dear all,

The following is a timeless piece written by Stanley Abramovitch. It tells of events in which JDC was involved more than 60 years ago. But it is appropriate to call the piece timeless.

It happened then, but similar things have happened to JDC staff in other places at other times. Wherever there were Jewish survivors, or refugees, in the last 100 years, JDC was there. Our staff worked with Poles and Iranian Jews in Vienna, North African Jews in France, Soviet Jews in Italy, the Jews of Sarajevo and of Transdeniester, and of course Jews of every sort fleeing their birthplaces for refuge in the State of Israel.

I would imagine that every JDC staff member involved in such an effort sees those events as the last of their kind. The upheavals in Jewish life during the Second World War were to mark the end of anti Semitism and forced Jewish wanderings. The anti Semitism of Gomulka forced Jews into "exile", but it was a final hurrah for government sponsored anti Semitism. The fall of Communist regimes would mean the end of uprooted Jews searching for a safe haven. And yet, the scenario repeats itself over and over. Perhaps the Jewish refugees from Gori this summer mark the end of Jewish flight. But if history teaches us anything, it is not to be sure on that account.

This story takes place in the aftermath of a tragedy. It is a quintessentially Jewish story because even in the midst of pain and what should be total despair, there is hope. It raises profound issues- and sets the stage for the kinds of things we should be thinking about as we examine our behavior and commitments during the past year, and resolve to address issues in the coming one.

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
Stanley Abramovitch

Yom Kippur day in October 1945, I spent in the Displaced Person Camp in Landsberg in Bavaria. The liberated Jews who were imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp and those who worked in ammunition and other factories in Bavaria were gathered into Landsberg and Feldafing camps both of them in Bavaria. The Germans also forced many Jews from other concentration camps to march to this part of Germany where the American Army freed them.

In Landsberg were a spacious army barracks confiscated by the American Army for housing some of the liberated Jews. Food and medical care were provided by the army through UNRRA, the U.N. Rescue and Rehabilitation Administration set up with the help of the U.S. government. The Jews elected a committee, which assumed responsibility for internal camp administration. Synagogues were organized for the High Holidays by different groups, often on the basis of the origin of the participants. There was a synagogue for Jews from Poland, another for Hungarian or Lithuanian Jews. Smaller groups, Hassidic Jews or those stemming from Marmarosh, an area on the border of Rumania spilling into Hungary and Slovakia had their own prayer places.

I attended morning services in the synagogue for Polish Jews. The prayers were charged with emotion, very moving, very painful. The tears shed came from the depth of their hearts, mourning those that were lost, murdered in the camps. It was rare to find among those present individuals who survived with siblings or more distant family members. The older generation was not there. They were the first victims since the Germans did not see in them future laborers. Nor were there any children who survived in camps. Children were quickly annihilated not to be a burden on the concentration camp administration. The survivors prayed, remembered, wept and found a little comfort in those tears.

After morning prayers, I decided to visit other synagogues and spend some time with other groups. I left the synagogue and walked across the half empty streets. There were many people who remained in the street and refused to attend services. They were angry at G-d. Among them were formerly religious, observant Jews who could not accept the apparent indifference of G-d to the suffering, the torture, and the tragedy they witnessed in their homes, in the camps. They could not reconcile their former beliefs and convictions of an All-Merciful, Almighty Divine being with the catastrophe that had struck their communities. They would not pray.

When they heard the recitation of the Kaddish, the special prayer of mourners, expressing praise of the Lord, they reacted angrily that G-d did not deserve the Kaddish. They were broken in their spirit; they could not reconcile recent events to which they were witnesses and the contents of Hebrew prayers. These Jews roamed the streets. They wanted to express their anger, to show G-d that they defied Him, as he seemed to have abandoned them. Some of them ate their food on the fast day publicly in the streets, as a gesture of defiance – of revolt.

In one of the streets, I saw a large group of people standing in a circle. I approached nearer to find out what was going on. In the middle of the circle stood a seven-year-old girl, embarrassed, perplexed. She could not understand why all these people stood around her. She, of course, could not know that they were surprised to find a Jewish child. They had not seen Jewish children in the camps. None were there. They had not seen Jewish children since liberation. Someone must have come from Eastern Europe and brought this little girl with him. So they stood silently and just looked at this miracle of a Jewish child in their midst. They could not tear themselves away from this one child who said nothing and to whom they said nothing. They just stood and gaped at the girl.

A special prayer is normally recited on Yom Kippur, for the departed members of one's family, Yizkor – the memorial prayer. As these people looked at the little girl they all remembered their children, or their younger brothers and sisters, the nephews and nieces who at one time were their pride and joy and who were no more. Each one of them looked and remembered, recalled the beloved children who were cruelly exterminated. They looked and remembered. And as they remembered, they recited without any words the Yizkor, the memorial prayer for all those who were part of their lives and were gone forever. This was a silent, most moving Yizkor, without words, without prayer books, recited in that street in Landsberg, by a group of Jewish survivors, watching a little bewildered Jewish girl. It was the most moving, most eloquent, most heartfelt, most silent Yizkor I have ever heard.

Warm wishes for a good and sweet year to you and your loved ones, and the whole House of Israel.

Asher

Interview: Mara's Reflections and Predictions on the Communities of Cuba and Argentina

Listen to Mara, a JDC representative who worked in Cuba for 2 years share her observations and predictions regarding the Jewish communities of Cuba as well as her native Argentina.

The interview is seperated into five pieces: Cuban Community,Cuban Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program, Returning to Argentina Post-Crisis, Argentina Client Profile: Ana, Argentina's Future .