EJA Meeting with Commissioner Stella Kyriakides

“The history of the Jewish people is one of displacement, either because of pogrom or war. We are only too aware of what it means to be forced to up-and-leave at a moment’s notice. In almost every one of our communities you will hear such stories,” stated EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin.

As war in Ukraine enters a second week, Europe is witnessing a huge influx of refugees fleeing Ukraine towards the West. Naturally many Ukrainian Jews are included in this surge to safety.

Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA), an umbrella group representing hundreds of communities across the continent, has launched a Europe-wide campaign to temporarily provide homes, food and clothing to hundreds of Jewish families whose lives have been torn-apart and up-ended by the conflict in Ukraine.

The appeal has gone out to Jewish communities from Lisbon to Lublin, Bucharest to Bordeaux and everywhere in between.

Speaking after launching the campaign, EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said, “The history of the Jewish people is one of displacement, either because of pogrom or war. We are only too aware of what it means to be forced to up-and-leave at a moment’s notice. In almost every one of our communities you will hear such stories. From generations ago from Spain or Galicia, from the war, to emigrating to Israel. I say this because we are especially attuned to these catastrophes. And because we are so attuned, we are pre-programmed to help our Jewish neighbours, just as we always have.’’

He added, “I have faith that this campaign will deliver. Since the war started Jews from all over Europe have been getting in touch with us to see what can be done to help their Ukrainian Jewish brothers and sisters in need. We are providing them with the vehicle to do just that, by offering shelter, food and clothing to those who left in a hurry, often with nothing but the clothes on their backs.”

In collaboration with our EJCC colleagues, we helped host the “She’s Gone Exhibition” here at our office in Brussels.

The event began with a welcome from Mrs. Nehama-Dina Uzan, the Programme Director of the European Jewish Community Centre (EJCC), followed by a speech from H.E. Ambassador Idit Rosenzweig Abu, the Head of Mission at the Embassy of Israel to Belgium & Luxembourg.

The programme included a performance of the short song “Slaap kindje slaap” by Sarina Cohn. Keren Yehezkeli Goldstein, the Creator and Director of the She’s Gone Art Installation and an Israeli documentary director, showcased her work and discussed her collaborations with various institutions, including the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Israeli Police Force, focusing on the prevention of domestic violence.

Professor Yifat Bitton, a Law Professor and Co-founder and Chair of the Israeli Center for Equality, Tmura, spoke about her advocacy for gender and origin equality, highlighting her roles as President of Achva Academic College and Chairwoman of the Israeli National Board of Public Colleges. Lastly, Orit Sulitzeanu, the Executive Director of The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) since 2013, presented the organization’s work towards eradicating sexual violence against women in Israel.

L’EJA a proposé une motion faisant valoir que l’antisémitisme est unique et ne devrait pas être regroupé avec les autres formes de haine

Organizations recognized as representing a community may benefit from church tax which the government collects from every citizen
The Interior Ministry of Iceland has added Judaism to its list of state-recognized religious and life-stance groups.
The move earlier this year means that Icelandic Jews may register themselves and their children as belonging to the country’s Jewish community, Chabad.org reported Thursday.
Organizations recognized by the state as representing a community may benefit from Iceland’s church tax, which the government collects from each person older than 16. It’s about $100 annually. Iceland has about 200 Jews.
The country has about 50 recognized religious groups. Church tax collected from those who are not registered as belonging to one of those groups goes toward the promotion of higher education and science.
“When we moved to Iceland, we knew that recognition was important to our community, and we were determined to make it happen,” Rabbi Avi Feldman, the Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to Iceland, told Chabad.org. “This is a story decades in the making.”
Feldman and his wife, Mushky, moved to Iceland in 2018.
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