Diaspora Jewry
While the population at this exclusive venue jumps to 200,000 in the summer, it’s also home to a small but growing year-round population of about 17,000. Like the lighthouses that dot the island’s coasts, Chabad will be there for the long, bustling summer days and the equally long, star-studded winter nights.
“A crisis of this magnitude has not been seen in Eastern Europe since World War II,” said Rabbi Shlomó Köves, chief rabbi of EMIH-The Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities.
Some 294,200 Jewish households with more than 700,000 residents reside there. Of those individuals, some 565,000 are Jewish and another 173,000 are not Jewish.
“We were also looking for someone with stature within Israeli society,” says Dan Elbaum, noting that Maj. Gen. (Res.) Doron Almog fits the bill.
The announcement comes as it hosts a meeting of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Stockholm.
Compared with the last time the American Jewish Committee met in 2019, much has changed for Jewish communities it advocated for across the globe, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Ironically, on this day, which strongly symbolizes the unity of the Jewish people, a large part of our people, Diaspora Jewry, seems to have been forgotten,” they wrote.
The 46-year-old director of the Jewish Agency in the Northeast Region of the United States recalls absorbing faith and belief from her parents that one day they would be “back home.”
Due to the urgent nature of the need, full funding is being provided; no matching funds are required.
“Start with Jews,” insists Natan Sharansky. “Try to convince them it is very important to their own survival. Then it is easy to move to non-Jews the moment you have Jews on your side.”
A committee focused on expanding the placement opportunities in “foundational and quality positions.”
Ahead of the flight, journalists and Federation leaders met with the Jewish community of Gondar, where the Ethiopian Jews are concentrated, on a multiple-day mission to solidify plans.
