News

Netzer in FSU Alive and Kicking Despite Financial Hardship

Camps have been cut due to a lack of funding, but the fight still goes on to run activities for our many chanichim...

02/04/2009

 

Netzer FSU (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) – February 2009

Chanukkah Short Movies Festival

11th Chanukkah Short Movies Festival took place in Minsk in December 2008. Netzer teams from Belarus, Moscow, St-Petersburg and Chelyabinsk participated in it. Films produced by Netzer Moscow and Netzer Belarus were included in short-list “10 Best Movies’. In addition, film made by Netzer Belarus got a prize in nomination “The Best Embodiment of the Idea of Chanukkah Festival”. Team of Netzer Belarus cooperated with the madrichim of JAFI in preparation to the festival.

Cinema

To continue the theme of movies, there are various projects related to cinema which gather young people of different ages. Those project are being held in Chelyabinsk and St-Petersburg. For instance, in Chelyabinsk there is a project “Netzer Animation”: chanikhim (under the guidance of madrichim) are drawing different heroes of Jewish stories, and then they produce an animated film! This unique creativity attracts many participants who all have chance to create animated movie inspired by a Jewish topic. The results of this long, but interesting process are animated films which are used by the teachers of Jewish religious (Sunday) schools to inspire young pupils.

Moscow

First in a new series of educational seminars for young leadership took place in November 2008. Moscow Netzer started a new project called “All you wanted to know about Judaism but were afraid to ask” (also known as “Lehrhaus”, or Beyt-Midrash for the Youth) which is run by Alexander Lyskovoy and Leonid Bimbat, Rabbis of Moscow Progressive Jewish community. The fall of 2008 also saw the beginning of a new project “Havdalah on the streets of Moscow”. It is an interactive event which takes place once a month and gathers many young Jews of Moscow. The programme includes educational games (quests), midrashim, Jewish tours of Moscow, and the ceremony of Havdalah. This innovative project is run exclusively by madrichim of Netzer.

“The most unusual Havdalah” – this event took place in the end of January. It got a very positive feedback from the participants. The programme included guided bus tour of Jewish Moscow. It is noteworthy that the guides were madrichim who brought interesting stories and midrashim! The tour included visits to historical districts where Jews lived and worked, all the participants were supplied with information about famous Jewish artists, actors, writers, Rabbis who lived there. During the tour the participants paid visits to Moscow Choral Synagogue and to Memorial synagogue. The latter one is used by Hineini, the first Moscow progressive Jewish congregation. The tour was concluded with the Havdalah ceremony which took place at the beautiful Memorial synagogue. It was impossible to cover all Jewish history of Moscow, therefore this tour to be continued soon. It also should be noticed that the tour was entirely paid by the participants themselves. This year Netzer Moscow decided to introduce membership fees which should help Netzer to develop the Youth activities of Moscow Progressive Jewish community.

Belarus

Volunteering is an integral part of Netzer ideology. Netzer activists always help other members of our community. Thus, in January 2009, chanichim and madrichim Netzer helped to distribute the humanitarian aid for the Minsk Jews who are in need (underprivileged) and for the community “Sheket” (Jews with hearing impaired). Volunteering activities also took place in Mogilev and Bobruisk.

Natalia Elman, Netzer Belarus Coordinator, participated in a monthly gathering of the Holocaust memorial committee. Leaders and top-managers of all Jewish organisations of Belarus are represented in this committee.

In February, madrichim and chanichim of Netzer Minsk were busy preparing for International Purim-schpiel Festival to take place in Vitebsk on March 27th. Netzer Belarus plays a very active role in organisation of the festival.

Ukraine

The Netzer Reform movement first appeared in Ukraine in 1995. During the last 14 years the number of members and leaders has steadily increased, ensuring a youth movement for future generations. Netzer currently operates in 8 cities of Ukraine and has over 200 members. One of the most important activities of our movement is cultivating young leadership through training seminars for madrichim thanks to the generosity of the Avi Chai foundation. These training seminars are held throughout the year enriching the knowledge of young leadership in Jewish tradition, education and practice and imparting the principles of the Reform Movement, as well as practical skills that involve group work and activity planning. Not only do these madrichim implement the skills they acquire in the camps, they also apply them in the Netzer clubs that run throughout the year, and have even established new Netzer groups in their cities.

There were no Winter Camps!

Unfortunately, the financial crisis has greatly affected Netzer activity. For the first time in many years, no winter camps were held in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, disappointing many chanichim who were really looking forward to the camp experience. Netzer camps are very important educational tools of our movement; their absence has a very negative impact on its development and growth. Camps create a unique atmosphere for youngsters from different cities and countries to become familiar with Jewish history and traditions, to deepen their knowledge of Progressive Judaism and to become part of Jewish community.

Netzer clubs were closed in some cities since these communities were unable to finance themselves, and international assistance was greatly reduced or completely cut.

Despite the obstacles, we are proud of all our achievements and believe that Netzer in the Former Soviet Union will overcome this latest challenge and continue to develop and succeed in the years to come.

 

More news