Global Jewish Leaders from WJC, Conference of Presidents, and Limmud FSU Convene to Honor Heroes of Russian Jewry

    NEW YORK, NY, May 21, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Leaders from the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and Limmud FSU gathered at the Harvard Club of New York City Thursday night to honor the late Edgar M. Bronfman and pillars of the Soviet Jewry movement.

A letter was presented at the event from former President George H. W. Bush, who said he and then-President Ronald Reagan had considered the matter of Soviet Jewry "to be the highest priority" in the 1980s and that the cause "had sympathy at the highest levels of our government."

"We are proud to honor the heroes of the Soviet Jewry movement for their strength, bravery, and unyielding commitment to fighting for Jewish rights in Russia," said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder. "On a personal level, I pay tribute to Edward Bronfman, my predecessor as president of the World Jewish Congress, for his life's work as an advocate for the Jewish people."

Edgar M. Bronfman is celebrated for, among other accomplishments, initiating diplomacy with the Soviet Union, leading to the legitimization of the Hebrew language in Russia and the freedom for Soviet Jews to practice their religion and immigrate to Israel.

"As I travel, people come up to me wherever I go and start talking about my father and the great impact he had on the Jewish people," Limmud FSU International Steering Committee Chair Matthew Bronfman, Edgar's son. "My father was dedicated to the Jewish people - and he was a great leader and an inspiration. He fought like crazy for Jewish justice. He was a giant in many ways - and in many ways he was just my dad."

Other speakers included Soviet Union human rights activist and refusenik Natan Sharansky, chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency; and Stephen M. Greenberg, chairman of the Presidents' Conference; and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Presidents' Conference, Limmud FSU Co-founder, Sandra Cahn, Michal Grayevsky, President, JCS LTD, Stephen Greenberg, Diane & Howard Wohl, Michael Miller, Eric Fingerhut, Chaim Chesler, Morris Abraham, Ilya Salita, Richard Stone, Susan Green, George Klein, Ken Bialkin, Irina and sten Polovitz, Rabbi J.Berman, Greg Shinder, Ronit Hocma Hasin, Izzi & Regina Tapoohi, Steve Linde, Danielle Ziri, Daniel Mariaschin, Eli Mandelbaum.

The World Jewish Congress, founded in Geneva in 1936, is the international organization representing Jewish communities in 100 countries to governments, parliaments and international organizations. The Presidents' Conference is comprised of 51 national Jewish organizations and addresses issues of concern to the Jewish community. Limmud FSU (former Soviet Union) engages young Russian-Jewish adults, empowering them to take ownership of their identity and to connect with their communities.

Limmud - the volunteer-driven Jewish learning experience started in Great Britain 30 years ago. Since 1990, Limmud has spread to Jewish communities across the world.

The first Limmud Conference took place in the UK in 1980, awakening inspiration in hundreds of activists who returned home full of enthusiasm. This resulted in the idea of organizing local Limmud events. The Jerusalem Post reported in 2000 that "Every place that has Jews should have its own Limmud."

Limmud is a dynamic, pluralistic gathering of Jewish learning. For 30 years, Limmud seminars and conferences around the globe, from Canada to Australia, Switzerland and Turkey, as well as Israel, have been attracting Jews of all ages and backgrounds, including those who have studied Jewish topics intensively and others who have very little practical knowledge.

Seminars, lectures, workshops, and discussions focus on an enormous range of topics, from social and political trends within Jewish communities and around the world, to Israeli politics; from Jewish cooking; from traditional texts, Yiddish theater, dance and music.

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