June 20, 2013 / 12 Tammuz 5773

The Jewish Agency for Israel will hold its June Board of Governors meeting next week (23-25.06.13) in Kiev, Ukraine. During the meeting, hundreds of leaders   from Jewish and Zionist organization from across the globe and Israel will learn about Jewish communal life in the region. This will be the first time that a Board of Governors meeting will take place in the former Soviet Union.

Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky said that the decision to hold the meeting in Kiev was part of the Jewish Agency’s efforts to strengthen its connection with the Jewish communities of the former Soviet Union. The meeting is also a reflection of the shared destiny and the solidarity between world Jewry and Ukrainian Jewry.

The Board of Governors is comprised of Jewish and Zionist organizations from around the world and meets three times a year, traditionally in Jerusalem, to hold in depth strategic discussions about issues affecting Israel and the Jewish world and to set policy for the Jewish Agency. During the meeting in Kiev members of the Board of Governors will meet with senior Ukrainian officials and with leaders of the Ukrainian Jewish community. They will be briefed about Jewish Agency programs and activities in Ukraine and will attend a ceremony at Babi Yar in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

The opening session of the meeting will be sponsored by The World Forum of Russian Jewry, which is headed by the American-Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist, Alexander L. Levin. The opening session will be attended by Ukrainian government officials, Chairman of the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency, James S. Tisch, Chairman of the Executive of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky and the Minister for Immigrant Absorption, Sofa Landver.

The Jewish community in Ukraine is one of the largest in the former Soviet Union and numbers around 200,000. Since the beginning of the wave of Aliyah (immigration to Israel) from the former Soviet Union in 1989, 330,000 Ukrainian’s have immigrated to Israel with the assistance of the Jewish Agency, many of them through special tracks for young immigrants and professionals. Each year, thousands of Ukrainians choose to immigrate to Israel and many hundreds participate in experiential educational programs such as Birthright and Masa Israel Journey.

For further details contact Benjamin Rutland, Spokesperson to the Foreign and English language media, the Jewish Agency for Israel, on 0526091099.