EJC focuses on assisting smaller communities : leadership visits Macedonia and meets with PM and President

The European Jewish Congress leadership, headed by EJC President Moshe Kantor, has traveled to Macedonia on Tuesday, May 5th and 6th as part of the organization’s recent effort to strengthen smaller Jewish communities across the continent. This new initiative is being developed by a committee headed by Jose Oulman Carp, the President of the Portuguese Jewish community, and is designed to help discover ways to assist these smaller communities in confronting a myriad of challenges they are currently facing. Other communities previously visited by the EJC include those in Slovenia and Athens among others.

These communities, those that barely survived the Holocaust, who are fighting for their very existence, who for them obtaining the structure for Jewish education, welfare or political representation is very difficult are the most in need for the influence and outreach of the European Jewish Congress. With the clout of the EJC, these small communities can better represent themselves in front of their governments regarding domestic and international political issues, but are also able to join forces with the wider Jewish world and can address social and cultural issues as well.

Additionally there is a growing trend of assimilation wherein small communities often find themselves at a loss to oppose the pressures that come from the large non-Jewish demographic in their countries. As a result, creating a strong Jewish identity is often difficult and developing any sustainable educational, welfare and social programming for such small numbers becomes difficult. On an activist level, communal leaders in these smaller nations report being frustrated by an inability to influence their political establishments on issues of concern like anti-Semitism and promoting Jewish education.

The EJC along with the leadership of the Macedonian Jewish Community met with The President of the Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Branko Crvenkonski, President of the Parliament, H.E. Ljubisha Georgievski and Prime Minister H.E. Nikola Gruevski to discuss these and other matters of importance to the Jewish community.

The Macedonia visit comes at the same time as a major gathering of European rabbis in the country, including the Chief Rabbis from Serbia, Croatia, Strasbourg, Romania, Moscow and other leading Rabbinical figures.

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Statements

European Jewish Congress calls on EU and UN leaders to cease its one-sided Israel bashing that has direct consequences for Jews in Europe

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