Palestinians demonstrating during this week's unrest

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US Secretary of State, Madelaine Albright announced tonight at Sharm-el-Sheikh that the Barak – Arafat summit in Paris yesterday led to the establishment of a joint Israeli, Palestinian, US security committee, aiming to reduce friction and bring violence to a conclusion. In spite of this announcement and Israeli Defense Force’s efforts to withdraw tanks and troops to positions held prior to the eruption of violence, there is a continuation today of Palestinian riots and many roads are still blocked.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak cancelled his trip to Sharm-el-Sheikh, where he was to meet with Albright, Mubarak and Arafat. In spite of the cease-fire agreement reached in Paris, Arafat refused to sign the agreement unless Israel agreed to an international investigation of the events in the territories.

The meeting at Sharm-el-Sheikh was intended to be the forum for the signing of an agreement to end hostilities and an opening position for an additional effort towards achieving a peace agreement.

Parallel to the efforts on the diplomatic and international fronts, the heads of the Jewish Agency –Chairman of the Executive, Sallai Meridor, JAFI Treasurer Chaim Chesler and Director General Aaron Abramovich – made a visit of solidarity yesterday to the areas in which the Jewish Agency is involved in settlement and regional development, which have been negatively impacted by the Arab attacks in the Galilee.

The new wave of Palestinian violence began last Wednesday when a convoy of settlers on the way to Netzarim in the Gaza Strip, accompanied by a IDF escort vehicle, was attacked. IDF soldier, David Biri, was killed in the attack, and another soldier was wounded.

The riots intensified on Thursday during the visit to the Temple Mount by Chairman of the Opposition Ariel Sharon, when worshippers in the mosques who had been incited began to throw stones on the Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall. Israeli-Arab public figures, headed by MK Ahmed Tibi, formerly advisor to Arafat, were on the Temple Mount at the time.

During Rosh Hashana, the riots and the attacks on Israeli settlements in the West Bank crossed the Green Line into Israel proper.

In addition to Biri, four Israeli soldiers and civilians were also killed in the riots: Police Inspector Yosef Asrasa Tabajia, Max Hazan, MudhatYusef, and Vyacheslav Zaslafsky Dozens of Israeli civilians were injured by the stones, Molotov cocktails and other acts of terrorism. The IDF responded, using battle helicopters for the first time, and readying armed forces to protect Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. According to Palestinian sources, many civilians were killed in these actions, and thousands injured.

The heads of the Jewish Agency yesterday visited the community of Katzir, in the Irron Valley, near the vicinity of unrest, Uhm-el Fahm. They also visited the community of Ashbal in the Segev region, in the north, which borders on 22 Arab villages which have become the center of unrest and tension over the past few days.

The Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Sallai Meridor, and the Treasurer Chaim Chesler, called upon the government of Israel to immediately implement a national plan to double the Jewish population in the Galilee and to strengthen the Jewish population in the Triangle.

Both toured the region today, at the head of a Jewish Agency delegation, which also included JAFI’s Director General Aaron Abramovich, and the director general of the Israel Department, Meir Nitzan, to express solidarity with the Jewish settlements in the Galilee which were affected by the uprising.

Chesler and Meridor said: «You live here in the name of the Jewish people, for the Jewish people and for all Israeli citizens. Neither violence nor terror will uproot the Jews from the Galilee and the Triangle. The Jewish Agency will do everything possible to strengthen the Jewish settlement in these areas.»

The leaders of the Jewish Agency emphasized, in their meetings with the Jewish residents, that to the dismay of all, the minority opinion in the Katzir judgment was proved correct in this last week. It stated that we have not yet reached the stage of peace and quiet in the realm of Jewish settlement.

The leaders of the Jewish Agency told the residents of Katzir, that the Jewish communities in the eastern USA, among them North Carolina and Georgia, had decided to partner with the Irron Valley region.

In talks that they had with the residents of Ashbal, in the Segev region, the heads of the Jewish Agency promised to assist the kibbutz as well as the community settlement which the kibbutz had established.

Central Galilee Region: The centers of uprising in this region for the past few days have been in Nazareth and Kafr Manda. The Council of Israeli Arabs meets in Kafr Manda, and Nazareth is the largest and most populated Arab city within the Green Line. In Nazareth, Shefaram, and Kafr Manda there was loss of life among Arab demonstrators, which ignited the atmosphere. Demonstrators threw stones and shot at the security forces. Stores and many Israeli governmental institutions were set alight. The roads to and from Upper Nazareth were closed this week due to stone-throwing incidents, damage to property and the burning of cars. Today, as of this afternoon, there has been a tense quiet.

In the Central Galilee region Partnership 2000 operates in conjunction with the Michigan community, involving new immigrants in the community and a number of programs that promote Jewish identity and leadership development among youth.

Carmiel-Misgav Region: This region borders on 22 Arab settlements. It was the center of violence and much tension. Major roads were closed; the inhabitants of Carmiel and communal settlements were unable to leave their homes. The gates to the settlements were locked and the inhabitants organized patrols and were put on alert. In areas close to the settlements of Ashbol, Atzmon and Ma’ale Zvia fires were set, shots were fired from automatic weapons, vehicles were set alight, tires were burned on the main roads and in Arab villages. There were many incidents of stone throwing on cars and security personnel. On the first day of Rosh Hashana, residents of Carmiel, who came to do their shopping in the Arab village of Deir-elAssad, were taken hostage and their cars vandalized. In the industrial region of Tardion , which is in the Segev bloc, a factory was set alight.

In this area, the Jewish Agency has a broad range of activities, among them Partnerhsip 2000 programs together with the Baltimore and Pittsburgh communities. These include Jewish-Beduin cooperation, regional planning, education and prevention of family violence.

The Hadera-Irron Region: In this region there were very serious incidents, especially around Uhm-el-Fahm. The main road was closed to traffic and the residents of Katzir, Mei Ami and others were ostensibly under curfew – no one came and no one went. In this region, there were fatalities and wounded among the Arab demonstrators. Policemen were also injured. Drivers of private vehicles, which drove past the vicinity, were forcibly removed from their cars which were then set alight. There was added security and a high alert was declared in the communities. Today there is a tense quiet, and the children have returned to school.

In the Hadera-Irron region, which includes the communities of Katzir, Mei Ami and Harrish, the Jewish Agency is involved in settlement. Recently, a Partnership 2000 project was launched with the Jewish communities in the south-east USA, including North Carolina and Georgia.

Haifa Region: In this region, there were riots, demonstrations and stone-throwing incidents, especially in Wadi Salib and the Hadar neighborhood. As the result of the immediate and personal intervention of the Mayor, the situation calmed down.

Partnership 2000 operates in Haifa together with the Boston community, encouraging Jewish-Arab co-existence, youth exchange, education towards pluralism, high-tech, etc.

Western Galilee Region. Most of the incidents and bad riots in this region took place in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Acre: Violent demonstrations, stone throwing, burning of Jewish shops and even shooting of live ammunition. Residents barricaded themselves in their homes. Today there is a tense quiet in the city. The fear in the city today is that, as a result of these difficult events, the traditional annual Acre Theater Festival, which takes place during the intermediate days of Sukkot, will suffer. Other incidents took place in Kfar Yassif, when an Israeli resident of the region was pulled from his car while tanking up in the village. He was badly beaten all over his body, and his car was set alight. In the vicinity of the villages of Amuca and Oshrat, in the Western Galilee, over 500 acres of natural vegetation was burned.

Partnership 2000 in the Western Galilee operates in cooperation with the Mid-West Consortium, encouraging pluralism and democracy, the advancement of entrepreneurship, the exchange of medical professionals, and the development of leadership among Jewish and Arab youth.

The Southern Region: In the Partnership Region of Arad-Tamar, which is near the Bedouin settlements of Kesaifa and Bahura, tires were burned, and stone-throwing incidents were reported and there was much damage to property.

Partnership 2000 in Arad-Tamar, in cooperation with the New Jersey consortium, is most active in the field of enrichment for new immigrants from Eastern Europe, prevention of violence, advancement of tourism and research and development

• 840 olim arrived in Israel this week, 699 from the FSU and Eastern Europe. The rest were from France, Switzerland, Italy, England, South Africa, Sweden, Argentina, Brazil, Ethiopia, the US and Canada.

• 9,672 Jewish tourists from the FSU participated in the various Jewish Agency programs for exploring aliyah and absorption possibilities through the Aliyah Movement during the first 8 months of the year.

• 43,264 olim from Bulgaria have come to Israel since the establishment of the State and up to the end of 1999.

• $9,500,000 – the Jewish Agency’s budget for the year 2000 to run Hebrew ulpans in Israel for olim and Jewish tourists. These include basic ulpans for learning the Hebrew language, advanced courses to improve knowledge of the language, ulpans for young adults, and activities involving Israeli culture and tradition for students at the ulpans.

• $249,600 – Jewish Agency budget for the year 2000 for operating the Institute for Youth Leaders, which trains leaders from youth movements from abroad for young leadership in their communities.

• $13,000 – Jewish Agency support for a project aimed at helping children whose parents are addicted to hard drugs. The project is run by the Association for Community Health Services, via the Methadone Center in Jerusalem.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, paid a special visit yesterday to the Dusseldorf synagogue, that was the target of an arson attack two days ago. Schroeder condemned the incident and promised to act immediately to find those responsible.

Two nights ago, close to midnight, unidentified persons threw two Molotov cocktails at the synagogue. According to Anat Kagan, the Jewish Agency’s representative in Germany, the fire was put extinguished by people who were in the area at the time of the attack. Consequently, no-one was hurt and there was only slight damage to property. German police arrested two youths suspected in this incident.

Avi Pazner, World Chairman of Keren Hayesod, paid a solidarity visit to the synagogue yesterday. Pazner met with the president of the umbrella organization of Jewish communities in Germany, Paul Spiegel, and expressed support for the efforts made by Jewish community leaders to persuade the German authorities to take strong action against extreme right-wing organizations involved in incitement.

Kagan added that in a hand-grenade explosion which took place at the end of July at Dusseldorf’s railway station, 10 immigrants from the FSU were hurt, including 6 Jews. The Dusseldorf Jewish community numbers 6,500, 5,000 of whom have arrived from the FSU over the last decade.

There have been a series of anti-Semitic incidents in the Jewish cemetery in the Romanian city of Iasi: A group of local youths broke into the cemetery two nights in a row last month, and desecrated 90 graves. Following the anti-Semitic acts and under pressure from Jewish community leaders, the Romanian police began an investigation of the incident and the authorities condemned the actions. So far it is not known which organization instigated this action.

Tova Bin Nun, Jewish Agency emissary in Romania, reports that on two consecutive nights, a group of hooligans broke into the cemetery, smashing dozens of graves with axes and hammers. As a result of the two serious incidents, Jewish community leaders kept watch on the cemetery and three local youths -13 and 14 years old - were apprehended on suspicion of committing the crime.

The Iasi authorities condemned the act and following pressure from community leaders, the Romanian police initiated an investigation. The three youths were held in custody for five days in order to discover who was behind the incident. The Jewish Agency emissary adds that one of the suspects is known to the police, although no-one has taken responsibility for their action yet.

The Jewish community in Iasi expressed deep shock following the two incidents. Community leaders believe that the two incidents were perpetrated under growing anti-Semitism and the three youths were encouraged by anti-Semitic organizations. Pincu Kaizerman, head of the Jewish community in Iasi, promised that he would drop the complaint against them if they would reveal the names of those who stood behind the action, but they refused to cooperate.

Iasi is the capital of Romania’s Moldova region. The city’s Jewish cemetery was built more than 120 years ago and has more than 100,000 graves. Before the Second World War there were 45,000 Jews in the city. During the war, under General Antonesco’s rule, there was a major pogrom against the Jews of Iasi and many of them were killed on a death train. The Jewish community currently numbers 500 out of an overall population of 600,000.

There is an active synagogue in Iasi where Torah and Hebrew classes are conducted. The Jewish Agency runs an aliyah club, which encourages aliyah and trains young leadership. It should be noted that this is not the first time that gravestones have been desecrated in Jewish cemeteries in Romania. According to the Jewish Agency emissary, there were similar incidents in other Romanian cities last year.

A key witness in the investigation of the 1994 attack on the Amia building in Buenos Aires will be extradited by the Swiss government to Argentina in the next few days. The suspect, Wilson Dos Santos, a Brazilian national who was arrested in Zurich several months ago, will be extradited to Argentina following heavy pressure exerted by the Argentine authorities on the Swiss government.

Kito Hasson, head of the Jewish Agency’s delegation to Latin America, reports that Dos Santos aroused suspicion after it became known that ten days before the attack on the Amia building, the suspect presented himself at the Israeli embassy in Brazil and warned that the Iranians intended to attack one of the Israeli embassies in South America. After the attack on the Amia building, suspicion of Dos Santos’ involvement increased when he refused to be questioned on the subject.

According to Hasson, Argentina’s official application to Switzerland to extradite the suspect, is part of increased efforts to bring the suspects to trial, following the election of Fernando de la Rua to power. In recent weeks, the team handling the investigation of the two attacks has been reinforced, Carlos Bacarra, Argentina’s deputy Minister of the Interior, has been appointed to head the team coordinating the legal proceedings and bringing the accused to trial.

Hasson adds that the Argentine authorities are making every effort to hold the trial of the suspects in the attack on the Jewish community center in April next year. According to Hasson, preparations are currently under way to prepare a large hall in the city center for the trial, that meets security and other requirements.

In the attack on the Amia building which took place in July 1994, 86 people were killed and more than 200 injured. The attack on the Israeli embassy building in Buenos Aires two years earlier resulted in 22 dead and more than 150 injured. So far those accused of perpetrating the attack have not been brought to justice.

Fifty-five Jewish youth from Israel and South Africa, students at two high schools in Beit Shemesh-Adulam and South African high schools in Capetown, Johannesburg and Durban have recently returned from a week long trip to concentration camps in Poland. The trip, which followed a period of parallel study about the Holocaust in their respective schools, was conducted within the framework of the Beit Shemesh-Adulam - Washington DC - South Africa - Jewish Agency’s Partnership 2000 program.

Participating schools included the secular Schieber and the religious Feurst high schools in Beit Shemesh and the Herzilia school in Capetown South Africa. Before leaving for Poland, the South Africans were hosted by their peers in Beit Shemesh, Israel for several days. For many of the youngsters this was their first time in Israel. The entire group toured Jerusalem, and participated in a seminar at Yad Vashem.

During their week-long visit, the youngsters visited the Treblinka, Chelmeno, Meidanik, and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps as well as former shtetls such as Tikochin, Lidness and Ternov, and the Valley of Death, where Jews were rounded up and killed in the Lufohova forest. Memorial ceremonies for the victims were held in the Jewish cemeteries in Warsaw and Cracow. The members of the delegation also visited and met with Polish students with whom they discussed relations between the Jewish people and the Polish people.

Holocaust survivor Roman Frister joined the mission in order to give the youth his first hand testimony. Frister, head of the Coteret Journalism school in Tel Aviv, survived the Birkenau concentration camp.

«This was a very intense Jewish experience for everyone» says Razi Mamet, director of the Beit Shemesh-Adulam region. They got an opportunity not only to learn about the personal tragedies of Jews and also about the communities and their lives before and during the war.»

«The trip also provided an opportunity for bonding,» added Mamet, not only between the Israelis and South African youth.

David Ben Naeh, Director General of the World Zionist Organization’s World Center for Religious Affairs in the Diaspora, returned last week from a ten-day pre-Rosh Hashana visit to Belarus, bring with him suitcases full of urgently needed ritual objects for use during the holidays: shofars, kittels, talitot, and kippahs. Ben Naeh traveled to Belarus to take part in a pre-holiday seminar sponsored by the Union of Religious Jewish Congregations in the Republic of Belarus. Representatives of 18 communities that make up the Union took part in the seminar, designed to teach how to conduct the forthcoming holiday services.

The World Center for Religious Affairs in the Diaspora, headed by Eliezer Sheffer, together with the Jewish Agency’s Former Soviet Union Department, headed by Amos Lahat, play a vital role in disseminating religious objects to spiritually starved communities in the FSU. Two thousand Shabbat kits with candlesticks, a kiddush cup, a challah cover, kippot, and a detailed explanatory brochure in Hebrew and Russian were recently distributed.

Ben Naeh visited the communities that comprise the Union, many of which were once important centers of Jewish religious and cultural life, among them Volozhyn, Ivenets, Mir, Stolptsy, Bobruisk, and Mogilev. «It was a bittersweet experience,» says Ben Naeh. «A community like Bobruisk which was 82% Jewish before the war – with a Jewish population of 82,000 and 42 synagogues – today has one thousand Jews and a single synagogue that meets in an apartment. Volozhyn was home of the legendary Volozhyn Yeshiva, which during the almost 200 years of its existence exercised a profound influence on the cultural life of Russian Jewry. It was the prototype for important Talmud centres in Europe, Israel, and the US. Many of the important rabbis of Russia and Poland as well as many Hebrew writers studied there. Today Volozhyn has two or three Jewish families, a decaying synagogue, and the dilapidated yeshiva building that until recently was used as a food shop dispensing sandwiches, drinks and baked goods.»

Ben Naeh reports that the Union of Religious Congregations, under the leadership of the Chief Rabbi of Belarus, Rav Sender Uritsky and President Yuri Dorn – himself a leading expert in Jewish history and particularly of Jewish sites -- has begun preliminary work to restore the building. It is currently seeking funds to turn it into an educational and cultural center.

Ben Naeh also visited the remains of Rakov, a town originally settled by Jews in 1,465. In 1942, 950 of the town’s Jews – close to 90% of the town’s Jewish population -- were rounded up in the synagogue and burned alive.

Monument in Rakov, Belarus

«I don’t know how to thank Abba Feigin, Jewish Agency emissary in Piatigorsk, and his wife Nadiah, for saving my brother, who could easily have lost his life in Chechenya,» said Alexander Alkhazov, a few hours after his brother Valery landed in Israel. Valery was brought to Israel this week from Chechenya in a Jewish Agency operation. «They have done so much for my brother and treated him like their own son,» said Alexander with considerable emotion, «The work of the Jewish Agency emissaries is a blessing am simply lucky to have met Abba Feigin.»

The Alkhazov brothers, Valery, Yuri and Alexander were born in Chechenya. 47-year old Yuri came to Israel with his family in 1991 and settled in Beersheva. He was followed by his younger brother Alexander, then 39, in 1996. 49-year old Valery, the oldest brother, remained behind in Chernokozovo, about six miles north of Grozhny.

When fighting broke out in Chechenya, the city was heavily bombarded and the brothers in Israel were seriously worried about Valery. After all efforts to reach him by telephone and mail failed, Alexander contacted one of his childhood friends who lived in the area and asked him to locate his brother. Fortunately, the Russian friend managed to find Valery last May and brought him to Jewish Agency emissary in Piatigorsk, Abba Feigin.

Feigin relates that Valery was brought to him in serious condition, suffering from malnutrition and various illnesses. He placed him in a convalescence home in Piatigorsk, where he received regular meals and emergency medical care, while at the same time beginning preparations for his aliyah to Israel. Due to the emergency situation in Chechenya, the task of arranging the relevant documents for leaving Russia became almost impossible. Feigin’s made extraordinary efforts to obtain the necessary permits for Valery from the local authorities and at the same time he and his wife to steps to bolster Valery’s physical and emotion condition.

This week Valery finally landed at Ben Gurion Airport, where he was received by excited relatives. Valery will move in with his brother in Beersheva temporarily, and will begin studying Hebrew at a Jewish Agency ulpan in the city.

A special camp for 50 suffering from chronic diseases at the Nahariya Hospital will take place this Sukkot, as part of the Jewish Agency’s activities for residents in the Confrontation Line region, together with the United Jewish Communities of North America and Keren Hayesod.

The camp, which will be held in a holiday village of Nes Amim in the north of Israel, will offer hands-on educational activities that are suited to the children’s medical restrictions. Medical attention will be provided for the children, who suffer from diabetes, asthma, metabolic disturbances and neurological disorders. Careful attention will be paid to the childrens’ medical restrictions, special needs, and dietary requirements.

According to the doctors, the special camps for chronically ill children are important tools in the recovery process and medical treatment for children. Much research attests to the fact that happiness, laughter, physical activity and participation in various workshops -- such as arts and crafts, computers, etc. - are important tools in the recovery process. Fun-filled activities will be provided under conditions that enable the sick child to participate, providing him/her with emotional support as well as relief for the family.

The Sukkot camp in the Confrontation Line region is particularly important, because most of the sick children come from poor families who would be unable to send them to special private camps.

Three thousand participants, including 200 from abroad, are expected to take part in Hilla Bagalil: Walking Together for Women's Health in the Galilee, a project to promote the Awareness and Early Detection of Breast Cancer, which will take place during Chol Hamoed Sukkot on Thursday October 19. The project is jointly sponsored by the communities of Karmiel-Misgav and Baltimore-Pittsburgh within the Jewish Agency-United Jewish Communities Partnership 2000 framework.

According to Sheila Zetler, member of the Organizing Committee of Hilla Bagalil, the non-competitive "fun run," to increase breast cancer awareness is the first event of its kind in the region. The goal is to raise awareness through mammography screening and self examination education, as well as to eventually open a Women's Health Center in the Karmiel/Misgav region. Proceeds of the event, which is a collaborative effort among women's volunteer groups in Karmiel, Misgav, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore, will go for this purpose.

At the end of this week, Friday October 6th, Israel will turn the clock back to winter clock. At 01:00 a.m. the clock will be moved back one hour to midnight. Summer clock will be reinstated on the day after Seder night, April 9^th 2001 and will continue through September 24th.

Unlike other countries around the world, which usually revert to winter time at the end of October, Israel usually restores winter clock immediately before Yom Kippur. After being appointed Minister of the Interior 18 months ago, Natan Sharansky decided to regulate the issue of summer time, in coordination with the religious parties in the Knesset.

Consequently, the summer clock will be introduced on the day after Seder night and will continue until Yom Kippur eve, consistent with the requirements of Israel’s religious population. This means that Yom Kippur will not be too long and that Seder night will begin at a reasonable hour.

Until other countries revert to winter time, the time difference between Israel and New York will be 6 hours, between Israel and Moscow two hours, and between Israel and England one hour. There will be no time difference between Israel and Europe.

Senior officials from One Israel and Likud parties call for the establishment of a national emergency government as a result of the recent clashes with Palestinians. Minister of Communications and Construction, Binyamin (Fouad) Ben-Eliezer said that the new situation demands the establishment of a national emergency government. MK Meir Shitreet (Likud) supports a binding coalition agreement between One Israel and the Likud for two consecutive terms in order to become free from the pressures of small parties, and focus on internal issues under the condition that all the Camp David agreements with Arafat will be cancelled. Up until Agenda’s deadline no formal offer came from Barak to Sharon. Many in the Likud party are against this move.

In spite of the scenes from the field, President Clinton invited Israeli and Palestinian delegations to another round of negotiations on permanent agreement in Washington this coming Tuesday. Israel has not yet responded.

The US Space Program announced that the first Israeli astronaut, Colonel Ilan Ramon will be launched into space in the year 2001.

A heat wave hits Israel on the eve of Yom Kippur.

Last Friday, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, President Putin sent his greetings to the Jews of Russia an the beginning of the new year and sent two personal telegrams to Rabbis Avraham Shayevich and Berel Lazar, naming them «Chief Rabbis of Russia.»

«I congratulate the Jews of Russia on their New Year festival from the bottom of my heart,» Putin wrote in his letter, with the words Rosh Hashanah written in Hebrew. «To many citizens of Russia who respect the values of Judaism, this is a day of purification and introspection. According to ancient tradition, during this period people forgive one another for affronts and are freed from the obstacles that interfere with mutual respect.»

«Jewish tradition, like other religions, is based on the eternal values of kindness, justice and mercy. The preservation of these values helps society educate its children for loving one’s neighbor, tolerance and religious pluralism. This is how Russia draws its strength and spirit. Only together, though unity and consensus, can we build a free and progressive country - a Russia of the 21st century,» said the President.

Amos Lahat, director of the Jewish Agency’s FSU Department, expressed great satisfaction at President Putin’s words. «We are pleased that the Russian president has sent greetings to the rabbis and hope that this step will create greater understanding and cooperation among Russia’s Jewish communities. The Jewish Agency is an integral part of Jewish communal activity in Russia and we will continue to work for unity among all sectors and streams within the Jewish community of the FSU,» said Lahat.

Lahat reported that almost 12,000 Jews in the FSU last week participated in festive Rosh Hashana celebrations organized by the Jewish Agency throughout the FSU.

«I feel that Israel is my home», said Michael Kalganov this week after winning a bronze medal. In interviews with the press following his win, Kalganov said that although some of his friends had emigrated to the US and Germany, he believes that as a Jew his place is here in Israel.

Michael Kalganov, who arrived in Israel from Uzbekistan five years ago, is the first oleh ever to win an Olympic medal and the only Israeli to return home from the Sydney Olympics with any medal. Kalganov won the bronze medal for kayaking in the 500 m. at the beginning of the week, on the second day of Rosh Hashana.

Kalganov, who has a BA in physical education from Tashkent University, was born in Uzbekistan in 1974. He began training in kayaking in Tashkent, following the lead of his older brother Andrei, a senior oarsman in Uzbekistan.

In 1995 Kalganov made aliyah through the Jewish Agency, settled in Haifa and continued his training with «Hapoel Haifa». Later the young athlete joined the «Hapoel Emek Hayarden» rowing club and was absorbed at Kibbutz Degania Bet, which is now his home.

Israel won its first Olympic medals in 1992 in Barcelona, when Yael Arad won a silver medal and Oren Smadga a bronze medal - both for judo. Gal Friedman won a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics for wind-surfing.

Michael Kalganov on the right, who won Israel's only medal at the Sydney Olympics

A special evening to be dedicated to a decade of aliyah from the FSU will take place in Holon during Hol Hamoed Sukkot. The seventh Story-Tellers’ Festival is being sponsored by the Jewish Agency, and will portray the characters who acted both overtly and covertly on behalf of aliyah from the FSU and the dramatic stories which lie behind this aliyah.

«Story-telling is an ancient art, which has been a focal point of Jewish community life for generations», said Jewish Agency Treasurer Chaim Chesler, who will be the guest of honor at the event. Chesler, who was formerly head of the Jewish Agency delegation in the FSU, added that the festival brings the story of the Jewish people to life and reinforces our own Israeli story. Chesler added that one of the Jewish Agency’s key objectives is social involvement in the community, both in Israel and in the Diaspora, and this can be achieved by taking part in the cultural life of the community.

Others participating in the event will be MK Victor Brailovsky, MK Yuri Stern, both immigrants from the FSU. Head of the Jewish Agency delegation in Russia, Karol Ungar; head of the JAFI delegation in Ukraine and Moldova, Eli Yitzhaki; head of the JAFI delegation in north America, Alla Levy; Boris Mafzir, Director General of the Ministry of Absorption; former head of Nativ Liaison Bureau, Yaakov Kedmi; writer and journalist Meir Uziel; Maya Kaganaskaya, and writer Ephraim Bauch. Singers Larissa Gerstein and Vladimir Friedman and mime Genadi Babizki will perform. Amos Ettinger will be master of ceremonies.

The seventh Holon Story-Tellers’ Festival will take place during Hol Hamoed Sukkot and will last 4 days. It is organized by the People’s Theater under the artistic directorship of Yossi Alphi and is sponsored by the Jewish Agency, Ministry of Culture and the Holon municipality. This year’s festival includes 100 indoor and outdoor events, including stories on espionage, secrets, Tel Aviv, IDF special Commando Unit, aliyah, Yiddish, Ladino, stories from the maternity wing, stories by Hanoch Levin and Rabbi Goren.

The Festival of Sukkot starts on the 15^th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which this year falls out on October 15^th. Sukkot is the is the third of the shalosh regalim, or three pilgrimage holidays (the other two being Passover and Shavuot), when Jews from throughout Eretz Yisrael and abroad would converge on the Temple in Jerusalem. Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period of the Jews’ wandering in the desert. It is also a harvest festival, known as Chag Ha’Asif or Festival of Ingathering. Sukkot was a time of great joy, therefore was known by yet another name is Z’man Simchateinu, Season of our Rejoicing.

In Israel Sukkot is celebrated for seven days, followed immediately by the one-day holiday of Sh’mini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. The first day of Sukkot and Sh’mini Atzeret are full-fledged holidays. The five intermediate days of the holiday, Chol HaMoed.

Outside of Israel, an additional day, yom tov sheni shel galuyot (the second day of the holiday in the Diaspora), is added to the holiday -- the result of the fact that in ancient times, the precise dates of holidays could be determined only after the new moon was seen. Since it took days and even weeks for messengers to reach far-flung communities abroad, both possible days of the holiday were observed. Thus, in the Diaspora, the first two days are observed as full-fledged holidays. The custom of yom tov sheni shel galuyot remained in effect even after a fixed calendar was established. The prime reason for this was to emphasize the centrality of the Land of Israel. The difference between Israel and the Diaspora is reflected in the celebration of Sh’mini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. In Israel Simchat Torah is observed on the same day as Sh’mini Atzeret. It is customary to dance with the Torah scrolls in the synagogue (hakafot) in honor of the completion of the reading of the entire Torah. In the Diaspora, on the other hand, Simchat Torah celebrated on the ninth day. The living bridge between Israel and the Diaspora is expressed on the evening following the conclusion of Simchat Torah when «second hakafot» take place in major city junctions, accompanied by music, and with participation of public figures and IDF soldiers. At the same time, the first hakafot are just beginning in Jewish communities around the world.

Sukkot is characterized by two unique mitzvot -- dwelling in a sukkah and the taking the Four Species. The Sukkah, a temporary dwelling of at least three walls covered with greenery, which is defined by the Mishna as «something that grows from the ground and cannot be used as a vessel.» The sukkah commemorates the protective Clouds of Glory that surrounded the Jewish people during the forty years of wandering in the desert, as well as the booths they lived in during that time. It is traditional to decorate the Sukkah, particularly with fruits and grains of the Seven Species.

The four species include an etrog (fruit of the citron tree), a lulav (an unopened date palm branch), aravot (two willow branches) and hadassim (three myrtle branches). The six branches are bound together and referred to collectively as the lulav. According to tradition, the four species are waved in all six directions: east, west, north, south, up, and down, symbolizing the fact that God is everywhere.

Ingredients

2 large onions
2 zucchini squash
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
5 parsley stalks
1/4 small white cabbage
4 fresh tomatoes
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. soup powder (optional)
1 tsp. salt
Black pepper to taste
10-12 cups water
100 gm. macaroni (size 8)
1/2 tsp. margarine

Preparation

• Cube onions, zucchini, and carrots. Chop the celery and parsley.

• Cut the cabbage into thin strips. Grate the fresh tomatoes on a coarse grater.

• Stir fry vegetables with oil in soup pot, add spices and water and bring to boil.

• Cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the macaroni and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

B'Te'avon! Bon Appetit!