Jewish organizations throughout the world, led by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations in the US and the CRIF, the umbrella organization of French Jewry, began an open struggle for the liberation of the 13 Jews imprisoned in Iran on suspicion of espionage.

The decision to take to the streets and protest, after a lengthy period of quiet diplomacy, was taken against the backdrop of information about the intention to start the trial next week at the Revolutionary Court headed by people who are considered connected with the Khomeini Revolution.

Despite the intention to postpone the trial by several days to enable independent lawyers to represent the suspects, the head of the Jewish organizations and youth and student movements decided to continue their protest activities throughout the world.

The Executive-Vice Chairman of the Presidents Conference, Malcolm Hoenlein, emphasizes that formal charges have still not been issued against the 13, and that the lawyers chosen to represent them must be given time to study the prosecution material. He maintains that there no time now to continue the quiet diplomacy - despite the fact that the American Congress is expected to pass a joint resolution by the majority and the minority condemning the incarceration of the Jews and demanding their immediate release.

France is leading the efforts in Europe where a large demonstration took place today with the participation of members of Parliament and other public figures.

A special prayer will be held throughout the US for the welfare of the prisoners. In addition, the Council of American Jews of Iranian Origin will hold a special ceremony in Los Angeles marking one year since the Jews, who are innocent of any crime, were arrested.

Andrei Kapostin, a member of the Kharkov municipality in Ukraine, this week called upon Ukrainian President Leonid Kutchma to intervene urgently to stop the wave of anti-Semitic publications which have recently been distributed in the city. Meron Lahat, head of the Jewish Agency delegation in Kharkov, reported that the call took the form of an open letter following the activities of the Ukrainian Cultural Society - "Prosoyta", which had distributed hundreds of anti-Semitic pamphlets to pupils in the city's schools.

Some months ago, the Society published a series of anti-Semitic articles accusing the Jews of destroying Ukraine, of taking over the administration of the country and of robbing the Ukrainian people. The articles also included popular slogans such as: "Kill the Jews - receive forgiveness for 40 sins", "Jew and master - both are dogs with the same beliefs", and the like.

The anti-Semitic material which was published in the Society's newspaper aroused a sharp response among the Jews of Kharkov. The chairman of the Jewish community in Kharkov, Alexander Feldman, his deputy, Gregory Shochat, respectively, filed a law suit against "Prosoyta", demanding that the newspaper be shut down immediately and that government cease funding the Society.

In response to the community's demand, Prosoyta head Prof. Kondratenko last month called for Jewish activity in the Ukraine to be restricted and to forbid the legal and legislative authorities from accepting suits from Jews against national organizations and newspapers. Prof. Kondratenko also accused the Jews of starving the Ukrainian people between 1932-1933, demanding financial compensation.

Kharkov is situated in the eastern Ukraine and is the second largest city after Kiev. The Jewish Agency estimates that some 30,000 Jews live in Kharkov. Habad and the Israel Center are active in Kharkov and run a Jewish school attended by 500 pupils. This week the school will inaugurate a new chemistry and physics lab, established with Jewish Agency funds. Another Jewish school is supported by the New York-based Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and is attended by 150 students. A branch of the "Solomon" Jewish University in Kiev also operates in the city, with an enrollment of 80 students in Jewish Studies and Computer Science faculties. The Solomon University has close ties with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and its curriculum is recognized by the Ukrainian Ministry of Education.

The Jewish Agency organizes a range of aliyah and education activities in Kharkov: a Hebrew language ulpan and courses on Jewish identity with 24 classes and an enrollment of 500 students; two youth clubs which work with 250 youngsters each month; 8 clubs and aliyah groups which prepare potential olim for aliyah through a variety of courses that range from seeking employment in Israel through computer applications.

Meron Lahat, leader of the Jewish Agency delegation in Kharkov, said that each month about 150 people contact the Jewish Agency offices for advice on aliyah-related subjects. According to Lahat, more than 2050 olim came to Israel from Kharkov in 1999.

Sixty-four percent of the Jewish population in Israel support the Law of Return as it stands. This was the result of a survey undertaken by a team of researchers at Tel Aviv University led by Prof. Ephraim Ya'ar. The findings were presented at a special meeting organized by the university and Israel's Central Office for Information, with the participation of public figures and academics, to mark 50 years since the enactment of the Law of Return.

The survey's findings show that the highest levels of support for the Law of Return were found among those of European origin and olim from the former Soviet Union - 73%. In contrast, only 55% of native-born Israelis of Middle-Eastern origin supported the Law. The researchers are of the opinion that this is evidence of the sense of discrimination felt by the second generation of Middle-Eastern Jews, against the background of the many benefits given to olim from the former Soviet Union in the last decade.

The lowest levels of support for the Law were found among the religious and ultra-orthodox sectors of the population 53%. This reflects opposition by the ultra-orthodox to the secular nature of the recent waves of aliyah from the FSU and the high proportion of olim who are not Jewish halachically according to Jewish law.

In every category, however, there was a majority who supported the Law of Return. Among the key reasons given for supporting the Law: the desire to preserve the Jewish majority in Israel (48%) was top of the list, followed by the fact that Israel should be a refuge for Jews in danger (40%), and maintaining ties with world Jews (38%). The survey also showed that one third of the Jewish population in Israel does not support the Law of Return.

"Despite a certain undermining in the status of the Law of Return, most of the Jewish population in Israel still supports the Law," Prof. Ya'ar said, "However, they wish to separate the right to come to Israel (aliyah) from the granting of immediate citizenship rights".

Yosef Gorni of Tel Aviv University presented the Zionist context of the Law of Return, but recognized the fact that the law in its present format discriminates against the Arab minority.

Professor of Geography, Arnon Sofer of Haifa University, warned of the ecological disaster which may occur as a result of neglecting the demographic repercussions of the Law of Return: "We are facing an ecological disaster as the State of Israel is not ready to provide for the needs of a population which is increasing at the highest rate in the world. Nevertheless, taking into account the high rate of population growth among Israel's Arab population (3.5% annually), the Law of Return must be upheld in order to preserve the Jewish majority in the country."

Dr. Ilan Pappa of Haifa University addressed the discriminatory aspects of the Law of Return and asked that the Law of Return be considered not as a problem on Israel's internal agenda but as a problem within the context of the agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Prof. Yoav Gelber of Haifa University stated that there is no connection between the Law of Return and the state of the non-Jewish population in Israel, and cited several historical examples of similar laws in England, Germany and other countries. However, Prof. Gelber did propose reforming the Law of Return, basing it on the principle that Jews in the Diaspora would maintain their right to asylum in the homeland of the Jewish people but automatic right of citizenship would be revoked and, as in the American model, citizenship would become contingent on a residence of a certain minimum period of time, together with some knowledge of the language and basic laws of Israel.

Dr. Yoav Peled of Tel Aviv University recalled the position taken by Ben Gurion, who believed that the Law of Return transferred the historic right of the Jewish people to the State of Israel and this right constituted the moral basis for the existence of the State. Today, however, he said, the State of Israel is moving towards acting as a liberal democracy and it must therefore revoke the Law of Return and enact balanced immigration laws which take into account the relevant considerations, including ecological considerations."

MK Nahum Langenthal (National Religious Party) sought to remove the Law of Return from immigration and discrimination issues within Israel. In his view, the Law of Return should be limited so as to prevent the entry of non-Jews to Israel and it should then become a basic law.

MK Taleb A-Sanna (United Arab List) said that the Law of Return clearly contradicts the nature of the State of Israel as a democratic state, giving its citizens unequal status based on national and religious background. In his view the law must be revoked and a new law enacted which will also take into consideration Israel's Arab population.

• Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations for children with special needs were held last week in Israel under the auspices of the Masorti Movement. The celebrations took place at the Movement's Temple Sinai in Tel Aviv. The Jewish Agency supports a number of Masorti Movement activities thought its Allocations Program.

• There are 62 participants this year in Otzma, a one-year program for college students designed for 19 - 25 year old North Americans. The program combines a variety of educational opportunities on kibbutzim, in ulpan, seminars, field trips with volunteer opportunities. The Jewish Agency's Department of Jewish Zionist Education has participated in the current program in the amount of $155,800.

• A team of cross-country runners from the Jewish Agency/Hadassah Neurim Youth Aliyah Village placed seventh in an international high school competition held in Morocco last week. The team are all members of Israel's Ethiopian community.

• $128,200 - This is the estimated total cost to train and send 820 camp counselors to the USA and Canada this summer. The counselors will have contact with 100,000 Jewish young people.

• $712,200 --The cost of this year's Jewish Agency high school programs for students from abroad, organized by the Agency's Department of Jewish Zionist Education.

• There are 766 10th, 11th and 12th graders from Latin America, 280 from English speaking countries and 180 from French speaking countries currently enrolled in either one semester or full academic year high schools programs. The programs provide an opportunity for study in Israel while receiving full academic credit from the students' high schools.

• $808,900 - The cost of short-term student programs for university students from abroad. These include program such as those sponsored by World Union Jewish Students (WUJS), Pardes, Yavne Olami and Otzma.

Jewish Agency Treasurer, Chaim Chesler, calls for a resolution to the issue of debt settlements of the moshavim and kibbutzim on the Confrontation Line with the Jewish Agency and the banks: "We may not leave the settlements on the Confrontation Line without a father and without a mother."

Chesler was speaking at a conference of the Jewish Agency's Israel Department that took place yesterday at the Dead Sea. He emphasized that the Israel Department today is able not only to help the settlements in distress but also to build new settlements.

On this coming Tuesday, members of the Jewish Agency Executive headed by Chesler and the Director-General, Aaron Abramovich, will take part in a visit to the Confrontation Line organized by the Ministry of Defense with the participation of the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.

MKs Eli Goldschmidt, Anat Maor, and Avshalom (Abu) Vilan have also been invited together with representatives of the United Kibbutz Movement, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Agriculture, and regional coordinators. Of the Jewish Agency.

The purpose of the visit is to see from close up the Israel Defense Forces preparations on the international border with Lebanon and its influence on the settlements along the Confrontation Line.

A delegation of 17 UJC activists from the Washington DC area arrived in Israel this week to learn more about Israel's accomplishments in the area of hi-tech. "One of our aims is to explore ways for the UJC to assist the Jewish Agency for Israel in funding advanced technology projects for new immigrants," said Stuart Kurlander, a Washington lawyer who is on the mission.

Highlights of the visit included the Technion in Haifa where they observed the special project for the advancement of future Ethiopian engineers and hi-tech professionals. They met with 10 students from the Ethiopian community who are currently studying there, some of whom are also working part-time at Intel. They also went to the Kfar Chasidim Youth Aliyah Village where they met with Ethiopian computer students who participate in a Jewish Agency affiliated program.

The group met with a number of public figures including Minister of Interior, Natan Sharansky, and the Chairman of Mirabilis, Dr. Yossie Vardi. Today they met with the Jewish Agency's Director General Aaron Abramovich at the Jerusalem College of Technology. As part of the tour of the college, they visited a solar cell development laboratory run by two immigrants, one from the FSU who had worked on the Sputnik program, and the other from the US who had worked at NASA.

The Washington-UJC Hi-Tech mission meeting with Jewish Agency Director General, Aaron Abramovich
photo credit Joe Malcolm

One hundred and fifty engineers and academics with degrees in computer science participated in an employment fair which ended this week in the US. The fair, which was organized by the Jewish Agency, the Israel's Ministry of Absorption, and the Association of Electronics Industries in Israel, was designed to recruit new immigrants as well as Israelis living in the US to Israel's advanced technology industries.

The candidates were chosen following announcements in the Jewish media in the United States, and were invited to interviews with representatives of the Israeli companies after they had sent in their resumes.

The fair was held at three locations in the US - San Francisco, Boston and New York with the participation of 15 Israeli companies, including Intel, IBM Israel, Elbit, Motorola Israel, Comverse Networks, Tower Semiconductor and Qualcom. Representatives of the companies offered some of the candidates immediate employment. Others received information on how to integrate into the employment market in Israel immediately upon their aliyah.

Yohanan Simon, the Jewish Agency representative at the fair, reported that a similar event was held in the US a year ago, as a result of which 30 engineers arrived in Israel. Simon added that Israel's hi-tech industry is currently seeking 3,000 engineers. The Jewish Agency will shortly be holding other similar fairs in Moscow and Paris.

Thousands of residents from the south of Israel will take part next week in the "Partnership 2000 (P2K) March of the Negev", organized by residents of the Ofakim - Merhavim region within the context of the Jewish Agency's Partnership 2000 program. The march is designed to strengthen links among all the residents of the Negev as well as between them and the Jewish communities in the US who are partnered with the area.

Participating in the march will be residents of Ofakim, the Merhavim regional council, new immigrants, IDF soldiers, Bedouins from Rahat, high-school students, and representatives of the Jewish community P2K partners - Metrowest and Bergen County, New Jersey in the US.

The march will pass by displays illustrating projects currently under way in the area within the context of Partnership 2000, including educational, cultural and welfare activities, as well as those in the arts, the development of young leadership and those designed to strengthen ties between communities overseas.

The march will conclude with a large-scale "happening" at Ofakim's Gan Habanim park, and will be attended by Israel's Minister of Culture and Sport, MK Matan Vilnai.

In preparation for Holocaust Memorial Day, the Jewish Agency is organizing a visit to the death camps in Poland for a group of 250 youth leaders and Hebrew teachers working for the Agency in the former Soviet Union (FSU).

Over the last three months, the young leaders have been studying at a special seminar on the Holocaust as experienced by east European Jewry. The purpose of the visit is to make real the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis and to hold memorial ceremonies for the Jews who were murdered and buried in mass graves in Poland. Four groups from all over Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus will participate in the project, with a separate route planned for each group. At the end of the project the leaders will return to their educational activity at the Jewish Agency youth clubs all over the FSU.

At the beginning of next week, the first delegation of 140 counselors from eight cities in the Ukraine will leave for Poland, accompanied by a staff of leaders from the Jewish Agency. Members of the delegation will visit sites of Jewish interest in Cracow, Katowice and Piotrkow Tryb, will tour the Maidanek concentration camp and hold a memorial service at Auschwitz.

In two weeks time the Volga delegation will leave for Poland. This group includes 33 leaders from Samara and other towns located in eastern Russia around the Volga river. The Jewish population in this area was not annihilated by the Nazis to the same extent at that in Lithuania, the Ukraine and other parts of Europe. Here the younger generation of Jews grew up on the heroic stories of the Red Army. They had no possibility of learning about the Jewish roots of the horrors of the war. A visit to Holocaust sites in Poland is therefore extremely significant educationally for the Jews of the Volga area.

At the end of the trip to Poland, 20 of the counselors from the Volga group will come to Israel for a week-long visit. During their visit they will participate in a seminar at the Massua Institute, which studies the annihilation of the Jews in Europe, they will mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls this year on May 2, 2000, within the context of Israel's national state ceremonies.

At the end of the month two other groups, each numbering 100, will set out from Minsk and Moscow. The Minsk delegation will take part in the "March of the Living" held each year in Poland, with the participation of Israeli youth.

A Jewish Agency rescue operation brought to Israel yesterday Berta Simandoyev, a seven-month old infant from Azerbaijan. She is suffering from a blood clot in the brain due to a rare congenital defect. The baby will undergo complex surgery requiring the most advanced medical treatment.

According to the baby's father, 33-year old Sirhan Simandoyev, medical services in Azerbaijan are in dire economic straits and treatment for little Berta would have endangered her life. Simandoyev contacted the Jewish Agency with a desperate plea to make every effort to save his daughter and bring her to Israel for urgent medical treatment.

The Simandoyev family lived in a small town called Ogoz, west of the Azerbaijan capital of Baku. The family had considered making aliyah in the near future, but due to concern for the child's life they decided to bring their immigration forward. In Israel the family will initially live with relatives in Tel Aviv.

According to Aryeh Resnick, head of the Jewish Agency delegation in Baku, just 250 Jews remain in Ogoz. The Jewish Agency runs a Hebrew ulpan attended by 20 children. In 1999 some 1200 Jews arrived in Israel from Azerbaijan.

New immigrant Ethiopian youngsters from Quara living at the Mevasseret Absorption Center have registered a marked improvement in their emotional and intellectual development, thanks to a special program initiated this past January at the absorption site to bridge intellectual and cultural gaps.

With the help of a special 1,000,000 shekel grant, half of which was provided by the Jewish Agency, after-school tutorial centers were started for the 500 youngsters ranging from kindergarten to high school age who had recently arrived from Quara with their families. The program, run by the Association for the Advancement of Education in Israel, provides a supportive framework at the eleven schools attended by the youngsters, from mid-day, when school generally ends, to 4:30. Participants receive a hot meal, individual and group lessons, cultural enrichment, and enjoy a warm, loving environment.

Now in their sixth year, the after-school centers serve 25,000 disadvantaged youngsters e throughout Israel. . Starting as an experimental project for junior high school children, the program now operates in dozens of cities, local municipalities, and regional councils, serving native Israelis -- Jews Arabs, Bedouin and Druze and new immigrants, primarily from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. The centers are supported by the Jewish Agency, the Ministry of Education, local bodies, and various foundations.

Avi Levinson, director of the site, reports that additional assistance is provided to the children at the site by professional teachers and trained teacher-soldiers. Tutoring in history, civics, mathematics, and other subjects, physical education, trips, and enrichment are easing the absorption process he notes.

Three thousand young Jewish leaders from throughout North America converged on the US Congress to press lawmakers on aid to Israel, health care initiatives and hate crimes legislation.

The young leaders, in the capital two weeks ago for the UJC Washington 12 Young Leadership Conference, brought their concerns to members of Congress representing nearly 40 states on the final day of the three-day, biennial convention.

Their sessions in the offices of U.S. senators and representatives followed a spirited rally featuring members of the Jewish congressional delegation, including Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas), Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-New York), Rep. Tom Lantos (D-California), Rep. Henry Waxman (D-California), and Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Florida).

"Too many of our peers - too many of us in our 30's and 40's - are too busy and too few of us are engaged in a political way," Wexler said. "I applaud you, because tomorrow, the American-Jewish community will be much stronger because of your efforts today."

During their visits with senators and representatives on Capitol Hill, the conferees urged support for President Clinton's request for $1.98 billion in military aid and $840 million in economic assistance to Israel in 2001.

They also pressed members' support of "Return to Home" legislation as a free-standing bill or as part of the Patient's Bill of Rights. Such legislation would protect the rights of older managed care enrollees who want to return to their home communities after hospitalization but may be prevented by their plans from doing so.

Washington 12 attendees also pressed members for support of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would enhance one of the primary statutes used to combat racial and religious bias-motivated violence.

Conference highlights included a keynote address by Coretta Scott King, wife of the late Martin Luther King Jr. and talks by James Rubin, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Israeli Ambassador to the United States David Ivry and world renowned author and talk show host Dennis Prager.

The group was also addressed by a young new immigrant, Orna Rosenfeld from Yugoslavia. A young leader in her own right, she shared her personal stories of aliyah and rescue by the Jewish Agency, with her North American counterparts. Today she is pursuing her architecture degree at Israel's Technion, and receives a scholarship from the Agency.

Canada's profile among North American Jewry received a large boost recently thanks to the 75 young Jewish leaders who participated in the Young Leadership Conference. The Canadian contingent, which included 60 Torontonians, was the largest group of Canadians to take part in the bi-annual gathering of young Jewish adults from across North America.

"I was proud to see that Canadians have finally taken their rightful place on the North American Young Leadership scene," enthused Richard Diamond, National Chair of UJA Canada Young Leadership Division.

The accent was on youth, as 400 people attended the 7^th Meeting of Latin American Institutions and Community Leaders that convened two weeks ago in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The meeting included for the first time an 80-member young leadership delegation, who came to Cuernavaca from Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile.

The conference was sponsored by the JDC, the Central Committee of the Mexican Jewish Community -- whose president is Ishie Gitlin -- and Tribuna Israel. The World Zionist Organization's Hagshama Department played an official part in organizing the program dedicated to the 80 young participants.

Haim Hayet, the head of the World Zionist Organization Hagshama ("Fulfillment") Department said that the involvement of youth in a meeting of community leaders is of the utmost importance for Jewish peoplehood. He together with Rabbi Joe Wernik, head of the World Zionist Organization's Department for Zionist Activities, appeared on a panel which discussed Israel-Diaspora relations. Hayet noted that in Latin America the communities accept the centrality of Israel in Jewish life.

The following resolutions were proposed to the meeting participants by the young leadership caucus:

1. that the communities support the youth in their protest against the upcoming neo-Nazi conference due to be held in Chile; (In this regard, the Hagshama Department has organized demonstrations at all Chilean missions in Latin America as well as a petition against the event.)
2. that the communities should open their doors to all Jews and not only to those who are wealthy;
3. that the communities support Israel in its quest for peace.

While the Latin American communities, together with JDC, have held numerous meetings since 1990, this one was dedicated to seeking creative answers to meet the needs of the communities as they face the changing realities and growing complexities of Jewish life in their region. "Our challenge," said the organizers, "is to create communities strongly committed to justice, that take advantage of the wonderful possibility of reinventing themselves in an active connection with the rest of the Jewish people and in a permanent revaluing of Jewish life."

At the invitation of Veronica De Klerk, head of the Women's Action for Development (WAD) program in Namibia, Dr. Dalia Fisman, head of the Jewish Agency's Entrepreneurship program, and Zalman Gordon, a lecturer in social work at the University of Haifa's overseas program, have gone to Namibia, a developing country bordering on South Africa, as lecturers and consultants on economic encouragement for women. The visit is sponsored by the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center which is under the aegis of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Mashav Center for International Cooperation. The Carmel Center offers courses on various aspects of social, economic, and community development, with a particular focus on women.

Fisman and Gordon are giving a weeklong mini-course at a retreat near Windhoek, the Namibian capital. They will focus on methods of developing business opportunities, marketing strategies, management, business plans, and feasibility analysis of business ideas. The course includes short lectures supplemented by practical exercises and group discussions in which the students are able to pool their knowledge and ideas. The learning activities make use of data collected by the participants from typical rural semi-urban communities that are typical to Namibia. Participants will be asked to prepare a final assignment -- a proposal for an income generating project.

Setting up small business enterprises is seen as a mechanism for the raising women's awareness of their political power. Next week Fisman and Gordon will visit women's enterprises in the Mahenine-Omusati.

On Friday, Fisman and Gordon with have lunch with members of the small Jewish community in Windhoek, where most of Namibia's Jews live. They will attend Shabbat services at the Windhoek Hebrew Congregation, which has been existence since 1924.

• The police recommended not to press criminal charges again President Ezer Weizman because the money he received from millionaire Edouard Sarousi were not in the category of bribery. However, there is evidence of wrongdoing, but that the statue of limitations has expired.

• General Dan Chalutz was appointed commanding officer of the Israeli Air Force, succeeding General Eytan Ben-Eliahu who is retiring.

• The strike in the health system is worsening as it enters its 24th day. Strike actions were also taken by other government offices.

• Nirit Bakshi from Moshav Brosh in the South is the new "Miss Israel."

• Maccabi Tel Aviv tonight beat HaPoel Jerusalem 68-57 to win the state Basketball Cup.

"Music expresses that which cannot be said," wrote Victor Hugo. Sabrina Lastman and Katia Kaganovich are living proof of that.

When the two young women arrived at the Jewish Agency's Calanit Absorption Center in Ashkelon last October they had no common language. But not long after starting ulpan they discovered that the had a common love -- music.

Sabrina studied anthropology at university in Montivideo, and Katia, studied music in Kiev. Thanks to the unique Selah TAKA academic preparatory program at Calanit they met in Ashkelon.

Although they now converse easily in Hebrew, the young women began to sing together before they could talk to each other - crooning Gershwin and other show tunes in English. When the house mother at the absorption center heard the dynamic duo, she convinced them to perform on stage for the center's Chanukah party. "We used a lot of body language," recalls Katia - "using our eyes, hands, everything." They quickly recruited other students to form an ongoing ad hoc musical ensemble that sings just for fun and performs at local institutions - the Beit Gil Hazahav (home for the elderly) and for children at Barzilai Hospital.

One of their most successful performances, says Eli Goldsmid, Calanit's director, was the familiar Israeli song Ani chadash ba'aretz.

The Selah TAKA program is designed for new immigrants age 19 to 28 who have completed at least one year of university in their country of origin. It provides intensified instruction in English, Hebrew, computers, statistics, and Jewish studies. Students come from areas as diverse as India, Guatemala, Honduras, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Turkey, Morocco, France, Uruguay, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijain, and Tajikistan.

"Finding One's Voice" , the voice of Hannah, Samuel's mother whose voice wasn't heard, was the main topic discussed by the Artists' Organization of Boston. Benjamin J. Samuels presented a modern and traditional interpretation of the text. The artists each presented their own personal connection to their Jewish roots.

Margalit Toledano,. the Jewish Agency's aliyah emissary in Boston reports that about 100 Jewish artists -- visual artists, music, writers and actors -- from the Boston area are members of the group. They meet regularly at the Newton JCC. Henry Altman, the director of Visual Arts at the JCC is the initiator of these activities. A few months ago, he helped organize a group exhibition which focused on Psalm 145, a song of praise by David (the Ashrei prayer).

"The Jewish Artists Network focuses on the Torah learning process which we do together more than in the individual artwork of each one of us," explained Fay Grajower, a visual artist and a founder of the network. "Jewish Renaissance is central to the thinking of the leadership Boston's Jewish community."

A guided walking tour of Jewish sites in Berlin, a dinner party, Berlin by night and of course a Shabbat celebration await some 50 participants who have signed up for a European Jewish Singles Encounter to be held in Berlin this weekend. The gathering, which has attracted singles from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, England, Holland and Israel, offers a chance to make new friends, learn about other Jewish communities and exchange views on contemporary issues. Also included in the program are "ice-breaker" sessions and a discussion on opportunities for Jewish singles.

Yachad/Together - The European Jewish Singles Network is an initiative of the European Council of Jewish Communities, supported in part by the JDC Community Development - Europe. Yachad organizes get-togethers across the continent and throughout the year that are held in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Participants range in age from 30 to 50 and come from a variety of backgrounds and communities.

The next planned Yachad meeting will take place in St. Petersburg in May. At this session, called "The White Nights," Yachad will celebrate its 13^th Bar Mitzvah program.

Two hundred and fifty new immigrants -- young adults and soldiers -- will be the guests at the Seder of veteran Israeli families as part of the "Yachad Baseder" initiative of the Jewish Agency. Hosts include Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Minister for Regional Development Shimon Peres, Minister of Education Yossi Sarid, members of Knesset, mayors, heads of local councils, and members of the Jewish Agency executive.

In preparation for this event, a meeting will take place this Sunday at the President's Residence between representatives of the new immigrants and the volunteering families to enable them to become acquainted with each other. President Ezer Weizman, Jewish Agency Treasurer, Chaim Chesler, and Chairman of the Jewish Agency's Immigration Committee, Arieh Azoulay will take part in the ceremony.

Chaim Chesler noted that specifically on the seder night, when the Jewish family sits down together, the loneliness felt by the young immigrants is particularly acute. "I hope," said Chesler "that Israeli society will continue to adopt the new immigrants throughout the year, and that being guests at the homes of veteran Israeli families will provide them with a complete Jewish experience, that they were denied during the 70 years of the Soviet regime. "

Arieh Azoulay pointed out that this is the third year of the project, and noted that this is only one link in the Jewish Agency's attempt to strengthen the bond between the veteran Israeli population and the new immigrants.

According to the Jewish Agency's Immigration Department, this year there was also wide response by the public to the campaign to adopt immigrants on their own. Furthermore, an additional 2000 immigrants and tourists taking part in various Jewish Agency programs - most of whom are in Israel without families - chose to spend Seder night at group seders organized by the Jewish Agency at 15 absorption centers and on kibbutzim. Seder night is also celebrated at IDF bases, with senior commanders seated alongside soldiers who were unable to obtain leave and new immigrates who are in Israel without families.

This past Tuesday, Jerusalemite Nehemia Gordon went looking for ripe barley. Since he located it, growing in the Jericho region-, the coming Hebrew month will be declared the month of Abib by members of local Karaite community, who will celebrate the festival of Passover starting on the 15^th day of the month.

These Karaites, a sect of Judaism that adheres to an interpretation of the Torah without the Rabbinic gloss that is part of normative Judaism, celebrate Pesach in accordance with the Biblical command "You shall eat unleavened bread…at the time of the month of Abib" (Exodus 34:18). According to Karaite doctrine, Abib commences after the barley has ripened. Furthermore, unlike Rabbinical Judaism which has adopted a standardized, pre-calculated calendar based on a 19-year cycle, among the Karaites, Rosh Chodesh ( the first day of the Hebrew month) and consequently any holidays that fall within that month are based on the sighting of the new moon, as in ancient times. Thus, the date of the Karaite Pesach could theoretically differ from the standard date by a few days, or even as much as one month, although it's been many years since this has happened, according to Magdi Shmuel , a Karaite leader from Ashdod.

Karaism originated in the 8^th century in Babylon following a split from mainstream Judaism by a group of anti-Talmudic groups led by Anan ben David. The Muslim rulers granted the new group the right to practice Judaism in their own way The group became known as "Bnei Mikra" - literally, sons of Scripture, later abbreviated into "Karaim" or in English "Karaites."

Now a tiny group, Karaites once had significant populations in Russia, Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt. At the height of their strength, in the Middle Ages-, they reached close to 50% of the Jewish population in some locations.

Today, the Karaite Jews in Israel, most of whom originated in Egypt with some coming from Iraq, number some 25,000.

Like the rest of the Jewish community, they will sit down to a festive meal on Passover, accompanied by the recitation of the Haggadah . But in contrast to the traditional Hagaddah, the Karaite Haggadah (there are actually two versions, the abridged "Egyptian" and the "Russian," which. derive from a single earlier version) uses verses from Psalms and other Biblical quotations to tell the story of the Exodus, interspersed with short explanations and blessings.

The Karaite seder meal includes those elements specifically mentioned in the Bible: roasted lamb, matza, and morror (bitter herbs). But there is no seder plate with charoset and roasted egg. Instead of the familiar four cups of wine, Karaites drink unfermented raisin wine -- they consider wine or anything that has gone any kind of fermentation process like white or yellow cheeses to be chametz and forbidden on Pesach. In general, they do not rely on commercial kashruth supervision and eat only at home during Pesach.

There are also about 1200 Karaites in the United States, mainly in the San Francisco Bay area, in addition to very small communities in Istanbul and in Cairo. Since yom tov sheni shel galuyot - the additional day added on to holidays observed by Diaspora Jews resulting from communications difficulties in ancient times is due to a Rabbinical edict, Karaites abroad only observe seven days of the holiday, as in Israel.

While the Karaites reject the Oral Law - the Mishnah and the Talmud - and Rabbinic authority, they share with the Rabbinites such fundamental doctrines as the belief in one God, the divinity of the 24 books of the Bible, and the coming of the Messiah. "The Karaites believe that every Jew has the obligation to study the Torah and decide for him/herself the correct interpretation of Hashem's commandments according to his conscience and understanding," says Gordon, an MA student in Biblical studies at the Hebrew University. Gordon, who defines himself as "a ba'al teshuva to Karaism," and his wife, Devorah, grew up in modern Orthodox homes in Chicago.

This past Sunday evening, over thirty new immigrant women took part in the first of several workshops on Passover at the Jewish Agency's Beit Canada Absorption Center in Ashdod. Many had never heard of the holiday; others had only a vague idea of what it is and how it is celebrated. The majority of the participants are natives of the former Soviet Union; others come from distressed countries, Argentina, and other locations.

"We want them to learn about Judaism in an experiential fashion, while enjoying themselves," says Dina Shalvi, Cultural Coordinator at the center. "At the same time, we try to facilitate their integration into Israel."

The workshops are guided by Ella Kaminsky, an actress and singer, who is studying to be a cantor through the Reform movement, and who herself immigrated from Kiev nine years ago. For the first session that focused on Pesach and spring cleaning.as well as personal hygiene she brought in cleaning products. Other sessions will relate to Pesach arts and crafts -- the women will prepare a matzah cover -- and special holiday dishes. "We want to teach it from all angles," notes Kaminsky.

The workshops are part of series on Basic Judaism. "As the focal point of the family, the role of the woman is critical," says Shalvi. "It is she who teaches the children about their Jewish heritage; she who makes the house a Jewish home through Shabbat and holiday celebrations. Therefore we consider it crucial to empower them Jewishly."

The absorption center also holds workshops on Jewish identity for the 200 youngsters of elementary and high school age living there. .The younger children learn about Pesach cleaning by cleaning their clubroom; they are taught the Hagaddah through pictures. Workshops are held on burning chametz and matzah baking. Finally, they enjoy a model seder -- in preparation for the real thing!

"Food is tastier when prepared with love," says Dina Shalvi. "And the interaction among olim from different parts of the world makes the food absolutely delicious."

Women shared recipes for traditional Pesach dishes such as knaidlach, kreplach, and Moroccan style spicy fish, enjoyed the year round, but especially popular on Passover.

Ingredients
2 mullet fish
3 sweet red peppers
1 hot pepper
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 packet coriander
up to 1/2 cup of oil
2 tablespoons red pepper
Salt

Preparation
Remove the fish head, cut the fish into two, and place in a flat pan.
Slice the red peppers and cut the hot pepper into small pieces.
Sprinkle the cloves of garlic and chopped coriander around the pan.
Add the oil, pepper, and salt. Add water and cook on high flame for 20 minutes.
Reduce the heat until the fish is well cooked.

Bon appetit - B'teavon!