Chechen orphans arrive at Ben Gurion airport
(3rd from left) Jewish girl Natasha
photo credit: Israel Sun

---

"Since being adopted six months ago, by Jewish Agency emissary Abba Faigin and his wife Nadia, who became my father and mother in every sense of the word, I realized that I want to live and become a mother in Israel." These were Natasha Suchkova's first words after getting off the plane which brought her from the horrors of Chechnya to Israel with 43 of her friends from the Grozny orphanage.

The Jewish Agency has been involved with the Chechen orphans since November 1999. Their visit to Israel was made possible thanks to the generosity of the Russian Jewish Congress, headed by Vladimir Goussinsky.

Eli Amir, director of the Jewish Agency's Youth Aliyah institutions, said that he is pleased to host the orphans at the Hadassah Neurim Youth Village, even though they are not Jewish. "We will provide them with a warm home, loving support and a varied program designed to acquaint them with Israel. We will make their stay here as pleasant as possible."

A modest welcoming ceremony was held at the airport. Amos Lahat, director of the Jewish Agency's former Soviet Union Department said to Natasha: "Since the only family you knew was the orphanage, we have brought all the children to Israel for a visit, so that they can see your new home."

Mark Mejerson, representative of the Russian Jewish Congress in Israel, welcomed the members of the group on their arrival.

However, the man who earned the greatest praise was Abba Faigin, the Jewish Agency's emissary in Pyatigorsk, who adopted the orphans in recent months and accompanied them all the way to Israel. Yohanan Simon, head of the Jewish Agency Emissary Authority, praised the work of Alla Levy, head of the Agency's Delegation in Russia, as well as Abba Faigin for their dedication. He emphasized that their work symbolizes that done by Jewish Agency emissaries all over the world.

"The law must be fully applied to the Argentinean security services, the police, the judicial system, and political factors for withholding facts which could have led to a true investigation of the events," said Rabbi Sergio Bergman this week. Bergman is the rabbi of the Emanuel Congregation in Buenos Aires. He spoke at the main ceremony marking six years since the terrorist attack on the AMIA building on July 18^th 1994, in which 86 people were killed and more than 200 men, women and children were injured.

President of Argentina Prof. Fernando de la Rua, who has participated in the ceremonies for the last six years, even prior to his election, was present at the ceremony this year as well. The vice president and four government ministers also attended.

Bergman accused the top Argentinean leadership of failure to take adequate action and of not making all resources available in order to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Bergman also accused three of Argentina's neighbors, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil of failing to monitor their borders for the entry and exit of the possible suspects involved in the attack.

Kito Hasson, head of the Jewish Agency delegation in Latin America, who participated in the ceremony, emphasized that many of the 20 detainees who are currently being questioned about involvement in the attack are members of the police force. Suspicion arose after it was revealed that none of the policemen who had been guarding the Jewish community building and the Israeli embassy in March 1992 were injured in the attacks.

"Six years have passed since the attack and no-one has been indicted. This is a year more than the age of my son, who was just five years old when he was murdered in the attack," said one of the bereaved parents.

Thousands of Jewish community members, as well as non-Jewish guests, attended the ceremony which took place next to the building which had been the scene of the attack. Rogelio Cichowolsky, president of DAIA - Argentina's Jewish umbrella organization; Hugo Ostrower, President of AMIA; and Father Brown a representative of the Church in Argentina, also spoke at the ceremony.

At the beginning of the week, a special session, to which 100 Jewish community leaders were invited, was held in both houses of Argentina's Congress. The session focused on the Jewish community building attack. A special congressional committee, which was established a year ago to monitor progress in bringing the attackers to justice, reported on the progress of the investigation. The President of the Congress reiterated the commitment "to spare no effort in order to cleanse this terrible stain which has affected all of Argentina."

A new program designed to bring Jewish, Moslem and Christian teens closer together is being launched this week by the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County.

The group of 40 teenagers entering their final year of high-school - ten Jewish teens from San Diego, ten from Israel, and twenty Palestinians - will be travelling together for two weeks, beginning in Spain, where the Jewish, Moslem, and Christian cultures co-existed many centuries ago. This will be followed by a tour of Israel with visits to Jerusalem, the Galilee, and the San Diego Federation's partnership community in Israel, Sha'ar HaNegev as well as to the Gaza strip. The program is based on a current peace program being implemented for Jewish teens and their Bedouin peers in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. The intent is to nurture future leaders.

Last May, the American, Israeli, and Palestinian teachers and college-age counselors who are accompanying the students on the trip, met with the ten Jewish teens from San Diego at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center there.

"I believe our destiny is together and that's what we're here to do," said Palestinian teacher Hisham Aldasooqi, who spent ten years in an Israeli prison. "All of the pain and suffering is not worthwhile."

"You won't just be meeting Arabs and Jews and discussing the conflict," Israeli teacher Cheryl Vardi told the students. "You'll be building skills and using tools to help you become leaders in your own community."

The Federation's new program, The International Institute for Teen Leadership, is the brainchild of Gary Jacobs and his wife, Jerri-Ann. Gary Jacobs serves as the Chair of the Ibim Board of Directors and the San Diego Federation's Overseas Allocations Committee.

A delegation from the International Organization for Migration arrived in Israel this week in order to learn from the accumulated experience of the Jewish Agency and the Israeli Government about immigration and the absorption of new immigrants. The delegation included Prof. Ndioro Ndiaye - deputy director of the International Organization for Migration and Dr. Peter Schatzer - head of the organization's foreign affairs. They are guests of Israel's Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Jewish Agency.

Among the issues discussed by the two was the possibility of the IOM utilizing the services of the Jewish Agency emissaries, at the end of their tour of duty, to assist migrants in need all over the world.

The two officials met with Jewish Agency and Israel Foreign Ministry representatives and toured a variety of absorption sites including: kibbutzim, local municipal facilities and absorption centers. They also visited the Jerusalem Center for Technological Training and "Tikvateinu" - the center for retraining programs for new immigrant absorption, programs that create employment for immigrants.

The International Organization for Migration deals with international migration and with immigrants. The Organization, which has 76 member states including Israel, is headquartered in Geneva. A year ago the organization assisted the Jewish Agency in returning 200 Kosovo refugees to their homes, after Israel had offered them temporary refuge.

Ndiaye, a professor of dentistry at Dakar University in Senagal, has held several senior government posts in Senegal. She served for eight years as Minister of Labor and Social Welfare until her appointment six months ago to the International Organization for Migration.

• 200 five-month sessions of advanced ulpan, designed to improve the level of Hebrew for immigrants who have completed basic ulpan, will be run by the Jewish Agency in 2000. These will take place in the work place, in absorption centers and community centers. In addition to Hebrew studies, students will participate in enrichment activities dealing with Zionism, Israeli geography and Jewish traditions.

• The Jewish Agency is supporting 166 innovative and creative projects, carried out by 143 organizations and 55 projects carried out by 18 religious stream organizations in the 2000 budget year. The creative projects offer new and unique solutions to problems facing Israeli society; the projects carried out by religious stream organizations promote religious pluralism in the country.

• Some 350 immigrant families will participate this year in the First Home in the Homeland program for families. This begins when potential olim are interviewed abroad by kibbutz members, and continues with direct absorption on the kibbutz upon their arrival in Israel.

• $1.5 million is the budget allocated this year for the Jewish Agency's Jewish Identity programs aimed at expanding and strengthening Jewish identity among Jews in the former Soviet Union, as well as among new immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Thousands of people are already learning about Jewish tradition, history, philosophy, holidays and customs.

• $89,000 is the current year budget for Machon Greenberg, for training teachers in the Diaspora. This Jewish Agency program has been expanded from one to two years, with the second year devoted to supervised fieldwork in each student's country of origin. Students on the program come predominantly from South America and Greece.

• $500,000 is the budget for the Jewish Agency's strategic initiative program called Jewish Peoplehood for Israeli Youth. This program is aimed at strengthening the sense of Jewish Peoplehood among young Israelis by developing formal curricular programs and informal educational activities together wit Israel's Ministry of Education.

Representatives of the Israeli Government, Jerusalem Municipality and Jewish Agency met this week at the request of Prime Minister Ehud Barak, in order to review a five-year plan for the development of Israel's capital - Jerusalem.

At the meeting, which took place in the office of Finance Minister Avraham Shochat, Minister Haim Ramon reported that Prime Minister Barak had called him from the Camp David summit and asked him to organize the meeting, in order enlist the support of the entire Jewish people together with the Israeli government in promoting the plan.

Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor and Chairman of the United Jewish Communities, Charles Bronfman, will also be members of the steering committee in addition to Israeli government representatives.

According to the proposal, more than a billion dollars will be invested in the capital, over the next five years. Half of this amount will come from the national budget and the rest through donations from world Jewry.

At the end of the month a special delegation of Jewish Agency and Jerusalem Municipality representatives will travel to Russia to meet Jewish families who are interested in making aliyah to Jerusalem within the framework of a project for technological absorption - "Living in Jerusalem". Members of the delegation will visit Moscow, St. Petersburg and Minsk, capital of Belarus, and will meet more than 100 families who registered for the project during the Jewish Agency's aliyah fairs in May.

The project, which is being run jointly by the Jewish Agency, Ministry of Absorption and Jerusalem Municipality, is being funded by a donation from the International Fellowship for Christians and Jews, headed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. The purpose of the project is to bring at least 500 families from the FSU who specialize in hi-tech and technology professions.

The project involves the absorption of families in subsidized apartments in Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood. They will be referred to hi-tech companies and technology plants in the city. A variety of enrichment programs is planned for the children of those participating in the project. These inlcude tours of the country and cultural activities. Each family will be accompanied by an absorption official from the Jerusalem Municipality who will assist the olim in all areas of their social and professional absorption.

Yohanan Simon, associate chairman of the project's steering committee, estimates that by May 2001, at least 250 families of scientists from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus will have made aliyah to Jerusalem within the framework of this program.

Moshe Almoznino, Director of Jewish Agency's Southern Region, this week returned from a visit to Kiev, together with the Mayor of Beersheva and representatives of the Montreal Jewish community. He told the local authorities in the Negev that Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union will join the Jewish Agency's Partnership 2000 program.

During his visit to Kiev, Almoznino investigated the possibility of including Kiev in the existing partnership between the Montreal's Jewish community and Beersheva - Bnei Shimon.

This announcement was made by the Director of the Agency's Southern Region, which hosted a special day long seminar this week in Beersheva. More than 25 mayors and heads of regional councils attended the seminar, that was designed to bring the Israeli partners into the loop of changes resulting from the Overseas Needs Assessment and Distribution (ONAD) process initiated by United Jewish Communities. Participants also included representatives partnered with the Southern region as part of the program.

Partnership 2000 is designed to strengthen the bonds between communities in Israel and Jewish communities abroad. Twenty-four local communities throughout the Negev take part in the program together with fourteen Jewish communities throughout the United States, Canada, Holland, Italy, South America, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Australia. The Jewish community of Mexico will soon join the program as a partner with the city of Ashkelon.

Speakers included Jewish Agency Director General, Aaron Abramovich, who spoke about future directions of the Jewish Agency. Paula Edelstein, Co-chair of the Israel Department, discussed the new methods of funding that will start next year and will encourage local communities to be more pro-active in proposing appealing projects.

A similar seminar is planned for the Northern region.

Next week the first family of new immigrants from Ukraine will arrive in Rishon Lezion, as part of a new project initiated by the Jewish Agency together with the Jewish Federation of Metrowest, New Jersey, the Rishon Lezion municipality and the Jewish community of Cherkasy in Ukraine.

In this "trilateral" project, families from Cherkasy will be absorbed in Rishon Lezion in apartments rented specially for this purpose thanks to funds donated by Metrowest. The apartments are designed to ease the absorption of the olim during their first few weeks in Israel, until they move on to more permanent rented accommodation.

In order to make it easier for the new immigrants to find work, incentives will be given to companies and industrial plants in the Rishon Lezion area to employ the olim arriving within the context of this project.

The trilateral project was first initiated a year ago, during a visit to Israel by Cherkasy's Jewish mayor, David Latichevsky. Latichevsky met with the heads of the Rishon Lezion municipality and Jewish Agency representatives who offered to set up a joint project between the Cherkasy community, Rishon Lezion and its partner town in the US - the Jewish Federation of Metrowest. Leaders of the Metrowest Federation expressed considerable interest in the project and met with Jews in Cherkasy and Kiev during a trip to Ukraine.

Alex Marshon, the Jewish Agency emissary in Kiev, said that more than 60 Jewish families have shown an interest in making aliyah to Rishon Lezion within the framework of the project, and they are now preparing for their aliyah.

Eli Itzhaki, head of the Jewish Agency Delegation in Ukraine, says that the project will facilitate the immigrants absorption and will contribute considerably to encouraging aliyah. Ilana Levy, director of the Jewish Agency's Ukrainian desk, estimates that in coming months more than 25 families from Cherkasy and Kiev will make aliyah to Rishon Lezion.

"As we begin the new century, Hadassah rededicates itself to Zionism and volunteerism," said Bonnie Lipton, Hadassah's National President. "I can think of no better way to honor these traditions than at the central event of our calendar year, where our delegates come to be informed and revitalized." Lipton was speaking at the 86th National Convention of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, that opened earlier this week in Los Angeles, with a salute to the Jewish Agency on its 70th anniversary.

Jewish Agency Treasurer, Chaim Chesler, was made a new Hadassah Associate on this occasion. In accepting the honor, Chesler said, "Hadassah equals Zionism. The work you do in developing your youth movement in the United States and your activities in Israel are an example of how Zionism works. Hadassah means 'I care.'"

The Henrietta Szold Award was presented to Ronald Lauder, President of the Jewish National Fund and Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, for his invaluable work in rebuilding the Jewish communities of Eastern and Central Europe.

Some 2,500 delegates from all over the United States attended the annual gathering that took place over four days in Los Angeles. Throughout the convention, delegates encountered Zionism in action with sessions that highlighted Hadassah's ongoing projects in Israel, including the Hadassah Medical Organization, the Hadassah College of Technology, the Hadassah Career Counseling Institute, Youth Aliyah, and Young Judea.

A roster of political strategists, government officials, academic experts, and other celebrities served as keynote speakers and on discussion panels. Rabbi Michael Melchior, Israel's Minister for Israeli Society and the World Jewish Community, provided an update on the peace talks at Camp David.

To highlight the organization's work, Hadassah banners proclaiming "Every Volunteer Counts" were flying at key intersections around Los Angeles. Hadassah is the largest volunteer membership organization in the world, with 300,000 members in the United States and chapters in over 30 countries around the world.

(from left to right) Ronald Lauder; Bonnie Lipton; Chaim Chesler and Rabbi Michael Melchior

Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna returned to Israel last week after a two-week visit to the US to encourage aliyah to his city, especially by members of the Conservative and Reform streams. This outreach was the initiative of Kalman Grossman, head of the Jewish Agency's Aliyah Delegation in North America together with the Haifa Municipality. At the end of his visit, Mitzna was asked to join the information team of the Peace Talks in Washington, and therefore remained in the Washington area.

In the framework of this program, Mayor Mitzna traveled to Chicago and New York to meet with members of the Jewish communities, Federation executives and lay leaders, leading Conservative and Reform rabbis and students. Mitzna also met with the Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley, whom he personally invited to visit Haifa.

Mitzna also addressed student groups in New York and spoke about the wide range of academic opportunities in Haifa, as well as the fact that the city is a high-tech center.

In his many presentations, Mitzna pointed out that Haifa has absorbed 65,000 immigrants from the Former Soviet Union since 1989. He praised the city's spirit of volunteerism in absorbing the new immigrants.

Haifa recently set up a special committee to create policy and build the infrastructure needed to absorb olim from North America. It is headed by Professor Aliza Shenhar, formerly Israel's ambassador to Russia. Among the issues to be tackled are job-recruitment and housing.

The Jewish Agency sent a special emissary, Galina Groisman, to Russia last month to provide counseling and consultation for single parent families interested in making aliyah to Israel. Groisman traveled from Novosibirsk in southern Russia to Khabarovsk in the far East, (near the Chinese border) as well as to seven other cities in outlying areas. She met with 103 families.

According to Natasha Berk, head of the Russian Desk in the Jewish Agency's Immigration and Absorption Department, the percentage of single parent families is particularly high in the areas that Groisman visited -- estimated at one-third of the total number of families. The Jewish Agency has been sending emissaries to the FSU since 1998 to provide special counseling for single parent families.

Groisman gave mini-seminars dealing with aliyah related issues pertaining to women, and particularly to single mothers: women's rights, the job market, workers' rights, how to run a Jewish home, women's organizations, governmental and other support for single-parent families.

"This is a Jewish humanitarian mission. I feel that by participating in the mission, I am realizing both medical and Jewish values at the same time." This comment was made by Dr. Douglas Miller, a Jewish doctor from Miami, Florida who, at the beginning of the week set out for Ethiopia as a member of the Jewish Agency's medical aid mission to assist victims of the drought in Ethiopia.

Boaz Herman, Jewish Agency emissary to the South-Eastern United States, reports that Miller made these comments before leaving for Addis Ababa, during a ceremony at Miami International Airport, attended by representatives of the Miami Jewish Federation, Jewish Agency and local media.

Anne Lynne Danker, a Jewish nurse with the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, joined Miller on the mission. This is the second time that medical personnel from North America have joined the aid missions. This week Sheila Calahan, a New Jersey nurse, who went to Ethiopia in June, returned to the US.

Prior to their departure, the American delegates studied the situation in the north-east region of Ethiopia and were briefed on the widespread diseases there by the returning medical teams: "Until now I had only read about such diseases in books, but never actually encountered them," said Miller.

The medical team is working out of three clinics in villages in the Wollo district of north-east Ethiopia. In addition to the two Americans, the team includes an Israeli doctor - Leah Lack, and an Israeli nurse - Ora Dago who herself made aliyah from Ethiopia. The team will conclude its mission on August 6^th.

Meir Nitzan, Director General of the Jewish Agency's Israel Department, who returned this morning from Ethiopia where he had joined with the medical team, said that to date four medical teams had gone to Ethiopia and had treated more than 1,500 patients.

Herman added that dozens of doctors and nurses have contacted the Jewish Agency's aliyah offices asking to join the medical missions as a result of the publicity about the campaign among Jewish Federations and in the Jewish and general media in North America.

The Claims Conference has decided to intensify international pressure on Austria on the subject of the restoration of Jewish property, and not only to compensate the victims of forced labor. Negotiations on this subject are currently being conducted with the Austrian Socialist Party by Stuart Eizenstat, American Under-Secretary of The Treasury, following a request by the Jewish Agency not to conduct direct negotiations with the Austrian government until the Freedom Party is excluded from the coalition.

The decision was made at the annual meeting of the Claims Conference, which was held this week in New York. The Jewish Agency was represented by Jewish Agency Treasurer Chaim Chesler, Attorney Paul Berger, and Bobby Brown, Advisor to the Jewish Agency's Chairman on the subject of the restoration of Jewish property.

Chesler submitted before the leaders of the Claims Committee the Jewish Agency's program for bringing Israeli high-school students on an educational trip to the death camps and ghettos in Poland, and for bringing Jewish youth from the Diaspora to visit the death camps in Europe en route to Israel.

The Conference also decided to accept the recommendations of its Planning Committee, on which the Jewish Agency is represented by its Chairman, Sallai Meridor. According to these recommendations, allocations from the Claims Conference - which in 1999 were $100 million, will continue to be based on the principle of 60% of the amount being allocated to projects in Israel and the remainder to be used for programs in the Diaspora, with 20% to be allocated to projects, for education, documentation and commemoration of the Holocaust.

The Camp David peace summit continues despite an atmosphere of crisis. President Clinton has left for the G8 summit in Japan while Barak and Arafat attempt to bridge the gaps over the future of Jerusalem, mediated by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The two camps in Israel are preparing for the fight over the popular vote. At major crossroads there is a war of posters for and against the process. 200,000 people filled Tel Aviv's Rabin Square to express their opposition to the far-reaching concessions to the Palestinians.

After striking 127 days the doctors have returned to work in the hospitals.

The Knesset has voted to bring in summer time in Israel on a regular date every year - the first Friday in April. Winter-time will always begin on the last Saturday night of September.

This week a group of ten Jewish families from France and the US arrived in Israel to spend their summer holiday learning Hebrew, as part of the Jewish Agency's "Family Ulpan" program. The program is designed to expose Jewish families from all over the world to absorption opportunities in Israel and strengthen their links to the State of Israel.

The ten families will be staying at the Grand Yahalom Hotel in Netanya for three weeks. There are 35 people in the group, including 20 children ages 4 -13. The parents will learn Hebrew at the Bialik municipal ulpan, together with new immigrants from all over the world. Their children will take part in a Hebrew day camp and recreational activities together with the children of the olim. The project is being run jointly with the Netanya municipality's Aliyah Absorption Authority.

In addition to teaching Hebrew, the ulpan program offers activities designed to familiarize the participants with Israel and Israeli society through tours and excursions all over the country. There will be home hospitality by Israeli families in Netanya, as well as lectures on Israeli society and absorption opportunities in Israel in the areas of employment, housing, immigrant rights, and more.

Director of the Jewish Agency's Aliyah Movement, and deputy director of the Aliyah Department, Vicki Angel-Kerem, says that the program's participants who pay their own way, are seeking a Jewish - Zionist experience for the entire family. According to Angel-Kerem four other families from the US will also participate in the program and study Hebrew at Ein Tzurim, a religious kibbutz. Jewish singles from all over the world will be studying Hebrew in Haifa.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mayor of Netanya Miriam Feierberg, Eli Cohen, director of the Jewish Agency's Central Region, Vicki Angel-Kerem - director of the Aliyah movement, and representatives of olim organizations attended the ceremony.

Seven groups of high school students, some 550 teenagers, arrived in Israel this week from Great Britain for a four-week Israel Experience, conducted in conjunction with the Jewish Agency. The youngsters, members of the Federation of Zionist Youth, the British counterpart of Young Judea, joined 1,250 Young Judeans from the United States who are already in Israel.

According to Dan Krakow, the Director of Young Judea in Israel, some of the groups came directly to Israel, others went first to Rome through the Jewish Agency's Exodus program, while still others came through Prague as part of a JAFI Shorashim program.

A total of 45 Young Judean groups, are presently in Israel. All the groups will meet with their Israeli counterparts, and take part in activities designed to teach them about their Jewish roots and strengthen their bond with Israel.

The British group will visit Jerusalem and learn about the city throughout the ages. They will tour the Negev, the Galilee and the Golan Heights, and will discuss in-depth peace and issues of security, as well as coexistence between Jews and Arabs. They will also visit Safed, where they will learn about the city's Golden Age, and Tel Aviv for a glance at contemporary art and culture.

B'nei Akiva counselors from Great Britain conducted an "English Day" for Confrontation Line youngsters at JAFI summer camps conducted as part of Partnership 2000

The fast of the 17^th of Tamuz (Shiva Asar B'Tamuz), which took place today, marks the beginning of three weeks of Jewish national mourning. The mourning reaches its peak during the last nine days of this period, culminating with Tisha B'Av, which this year falls on August 10. The "Three Weeks" have traditionally been a time of calamity for the Jewish people. It was during this period that both the First and the Second Temples were destroyed -- in each case marking the end of national sovereignty and the beginning of exile.

The First Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE by Babylonia, which had turned Judea into a vassal state in 602 BCE. After popular revolt, the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, razed Jerusalem, and exiled the inhabitants to Babylonia.

After receiving permission from Cyrus, King of Persia (that had conquered Babylonia) to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, a fraction of the Jewish people returned to Zion (510-516 BCE), and under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah, rebuilt the Temple.

In 63 BCE the Roman Empire conquered Eretz Yisrael, demonstrating great cruelty and engaging in religious repression toward its Jewish population. The Jews rebelled against their Roman occupiers, who placed Jerusalem under seige. On the 17th of Tamuz, the walls of the city were breached, leading to the burning of the Temple, the sacking of Jerusalem, and mass carnage of the people three weeks later, on the 9th and 10th of Av. The Jews were exiled to the Roman Empire - destined not to return to rebuild their homeland for almost 2000 years.

The Three Weeks are considered a time of "Bein HaMeitzarim" (between the straits) when a variety of other historical calamities have befallen the Jewish people. As a sign of mourning during this period, Jews traditionally refrain from marrying, listening to music, and other joyful activities.

At the beginning of next month, the Betar Jerusalem soccer team will play against the Georgian team "Wit Tbilisi". The European cup game will take place in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. The week of the game, the Jewish Agency will open its annual summer camp in a small town near Tbilisi, in which 130 Jewish youngsters from all over Georgia will participate.

As part of the camp's activity, the youngsters will attend the game in Tbilisi and cheer for the Israeli team. The youngsters will prepare blue and white flags and posters with the emblem of the State of Israel in order to show their support for Israel during the game.

During the days prior to the game, the youngsters will learn about Israeli soccer. Local Jewish Agency emissaries will organize personal meetings between the children and the Israeli soccer players.

Meir Tal, head of the Jewish Agency delegation in Central Asia and the Caucasus, said that with support like this the Israeli team is sure to win. The youngsters will have an opportunity to learn about Israel from a different angle, he added.

According to Tal, six camps for Jewish youngsters will be open this summer in Central Asia and the Caucasus. They will be attended by 650 youngsters from the entire region, who will participate in Zionist activities, learn about Judaism and Jewish tradition. The camps will be held in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan; Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan; Tbilisi the capital of Georgia; and Almati the capital of Kazakhstan.

During the half-time break in the soccer game, the team and the children will be able to enjoy Baklawa Georgian style! In the Georgian kitchen, it is called Paklawa and is prepared from dough which is similar to puff-pastry. Several layers of pastry are prepared and placed on top of each other, separated by layers of an almond or walnuts - similar to Turkish Baklawa.

Ingredients for 15 - 20 servings:

Pastry:
21/4 cups sifted flour
1 egg
pinch of salt
1/2 tspn. baking powder
1 cup of water
oil

Filling:
ground walnuts or almonds
3/4 cup of sugar
11/2 cups raisins
1/4 tspn. ground cloves
1/4 tspn. ground cinnamon
1 Tblspn. honey
1 Tblspn. stiff egg-white
powdered sugar for icing

Preparation:

• Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the egg, salt and baking powder, and pour the water in slowly, while kneading the dough until it is smooth and uniform. Divide the dough into 20-25 small balls and roll them in the oil. Cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes.

• Roll each ball of pastry into an extremely thin layer and place in a well greased baking tray. Brush the pastry with oil, roll out another ball, place it on top of the first and brush again with oil. Continue until half the balls of dough have been used.

• Prepare the filling: mix the nuts, sugar, raisins, cloves, cinnamon and honey with the beaten egg-white until a smooth mixture is obtained. 2-3 tablespoons of water can be added as necessary.

• Spread the filling over the layers of pastry and repeat the process of rolling out the rest of the layers and coating them with oil.

• Using a sharp or serrated knife, cut into diagonal strips about 11/2 inches wide so that diamond shapes are obtained. Bake in a pre-heated oven on medium (350F) for 20-30 minutes.

• Chill the baklawa and sprinkle powdered sugar over it before serving.

B'Te'avon! Bon Appetit!