NCSEJ Leadership Mission to Poland and Kazakhstan. Mission Report

Transcription

1 NCSEJ Leadership Mission to Poland and Kazakhstan October 26 November 5, 2017 Mission Report The reconstructed Gwozdziec Synagogue at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jewry in Warsaw, Poland 1

2 Introduction The NCSEJ Leadership Mission travelled to Poland and Kazakhstan from October 26 November 5. In both countries, our nine-person delegation held high-level meetings with national government representatives and American and Israeli diplomats, met with local Jewish community members and clergy, and experienced Jewish life in parts of the world that are critical to our organization s mission. In Poland, the delegation advocated for amendments to proposed restitution legislation as the first U.S.-based Jewish organization to visit the country since the Polish government announced plans for restitution laws. In Kazakhstan, we reinforced the government s close relationship with the local Jewish community, the United States, and Israel. Our visits to state and cultural institutions in Warsaw, Krakow, Astana, and Almaty underscored NCSEJ s role as a leading advocate for Jewish communities in Eurasia. In Poland, we coordinated our visit in partnership with the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland and in Kazakhstan, we worked with the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Religious and Civil Society Affairs to build an agenda that struck a balance between official and community-level meetings and experiences. The delegation was led by NCSEJ Chairman Daniel Rubin and NCSEJ CEO Mark Levin. They were joined by NCSEJ Board Members Larry and Millie Magid, Gerald Platt, Mindy Stein, Eileen Prusek, Alicia Levin, and NCSEJ Program Associate Benjamin Cohen. In Kazakhstan, Chief Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen of Almaty and Rabbi Shmuel Karnauch of Astana joined in official meetings with Kazakh government representatives. Poland U.S., Israeli, and Polish Government Briefings CEO Mark Levin with Deputy Speaker of the Polish Senate Adam Bielan NCSEJ CEO Mark Levin and Program Associate Benjamin Cohen began the mission with a meeting with Deputy Speaker of the Polish Senate Adam Bielan where they discussed Poland s new restitution proposal and Polish-Ukrainian relations. The delegation met with U.S. Ambassador to Poland Paul Jones at the U.S. Embassy where they received a briefing on regional security, the state of Poland s Jewish community, and anti-semitism. They also discussed the new restitution proposal. 2

3 NCSEJ Delegation with U.S. Ambassador to Poland Paul Jones Meeting Wojciech Kolarski at the Polish Presidential Palace The delegation then continued on to the Presidential Palace where they met with Undersecretary of State in the Chancellery of the President Wojciech Kolarski. Mr. Kolarski discussed the legislative process in Poland and how it might affect restitution plans going forward. The next day, NCSEJ met with Deputy Foreign Minister Marek Magierowski at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with Grzegorz Kozlowski from the Americas Department and Maciej Pisarski who is responsible for Jewish community affairs. 3

4 At the Lauder-Morasha Jewish Day School in Warsaw, NCSEJ met with Israeli Ambassador to Poland Anna Azari, where she spoke about Israeli-Polish relations and the revival of Jewish life in Poland. Chairman Daniel Rubin presents Deputy Foreign Minister Marek Magierowski with a tzedakah box With Israeli Ambassador to Poland Anna Azari Jewish Community and Cultural Highlights In Warsaw, NCSEJ met with Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich, Chair of the Warsaw Jewish Community Anna Chipczynska, and Director for the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland Monika Krawcyzk after enjoying Shabbat services at the Nozyk Synagogue. The group toured the Okopowa Jewish Cemetery, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jewry, including a tour with co-curator Joanna Fikus. From October 29-30, NCSEJ was in Krakow. From there, the delegation traveled to Auschwitz-Birkenau where they toured the former death camp and walked in the footsteps of Irene Weiss, Holocaust survivor and mother of NCSEJ Deputy Director Lesley Weiss. Touring the POLIN Museum with Joanna Fikus Back in Krakow, the delegation met with JCC Director Jonathan Ornstein and members of the local community over dinner, where they discussed 4

5 Jewish community life in the country. The next morning, before returning to Warsaw, NCSEJ toured Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter of Krakow, and visited the Galicia Jewish Museum where they met with Director Jakub Nowakowski. At the Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow With Agata Rakowiecka at the JCC Warsaw The delegation briefly returned to Warsaw before departing for Kazakhstan. They met with Sebastian Rejak, Senior Program and Policy Officer at the newly opened Polish branch of the American Jewish Committee. The group s final stop in Poland was at the Warsaw JCC, where Director Agata Rakowiecka talked about her efforts to build an inclusive and dynamic Jewish community space in the city. With Sebastian Rejak at AJC Warsaw 5

6 Kazakhstan U.S. and Kazakh Government Briefings The mission in Kazakhstan began with a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Astana. U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol briefed the delegation on U.S.-Kazakh relations, Kazakhstan s political and economic role in Central Asia, and regional security. Regional briefings continued the next morning with Deputy Chief of Mission of the Israeli Embassy Ariel Braverman. Mr. Braverman spoke to the delegation about Kazakhstan s political and economic future, local political culture, and the rise of Islamic radicalism in Central Asia. With Ambassador George Krol at the U.S. Embassy in Astana While in Astana, the delegation held official meetings with representatives from five different Kazakh government institutions. These included Darkhan Myngbay, Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, Minister of Religious and Civil Society Affairs Nurlan Yermekbayev, Secretary of State Gulshara Abdykalikova, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kairat Abdrakhmanov, and Chairman of the Senate Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev. With Israeli DCM Ariel Braverman in Astana At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana 6

7 Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan Yeshaya Cohen and Rabbi of Astana Shmuel Karnauch attended all Kazakh government meetings. Meetings with the Assembly of People and Ministry of Religious and Civil Society Affairs focused on how to support the Jewish communities of Kazakhstan. The ministries also briefed the delegation on how Kazakhstan supports religious and ethnic pluralism within a difficult geopolitical neighborhood. Meetings with the Secretary of State, With Darkhan Myngbay, Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of People Foreign Minister, and Chairman of the Senate focused more on international affairs, Kazakhstan s relationships with the United States, Iran, and Israel, and regional security concerns. In Almaty, Chairman Daniel Rubin, CEO Mark Levin, and Program Associate Benjamin Cohen attended a meeting with the City Administration of Almaty, including Deputy Mayor Arman Kyrykbayev, to discuss Jewish community relations in the city. Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen and Jewish Community Chair Alexander Baron also attended the meeting. Left: Alexander Mashkevitch addresses dinner guests at the Beit Rachel Synagogue in Astana. Above: Mark Levin and Daniel Rubin are interviewed for local TV after meeting with the Assembly of People in Astana. 7

8 Jewish Community and Cultural Highlights In Astana, the delegation visited the Beit Rachel synagogue, the largest in Central Asia. Alexander Mashkevitch, who sponsored the synagogue s construction, joined the delegation, Jewish community members, and Rabbis Cohen and Karnauch for dinner and conversation. The delegation traveled to Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan in the country s southeast, to visit with the local Jewish community. They visited the grave of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was exiled to Kazakhstan under Stalin s regime and died in Almaty in At the grave of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson in Almaty The delegation celebrated Shabbat at the Chabad Synagogue in Almaty. Alexander Baron met with the delegation to show them the local Jewish community center and library, the largest of its kind in the region. With Alexander Baron at the Jewish community library in Almaty Report compiled by NCSEJ Program Associate Benjamin Cohen. 8