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Amid surging aliyah, Jews from former USSR gather for community’s biggest annual event in Israel

TIBERIAS, Israel — In a year when Israel has seen more immigrants move to the country from former Soviet republics than any other year over the last decade, there was plenty to discuss, worry about and celebrate at a major gathering of such Jews at Israel’s only lakeside city, Tiberias.

On the first weekend in December, over 1,200 Jews with roots in the former Soviet Union gathered at a resort hotel overlooking the Sea of Galilee for a weekend of Israeli and Jewish culture, food, music, dancing and comedy. Organized by Limmud FSU Israel’s team of more than 150 volunteers from a wide range of ages, the conference was held in a mix of Hebrew and Russian.

Through the first 10 months of 2022, over 47,330 immigrants have moved to Israel from former Soviet republics, with over 14,000 coming from Ukraine and over 30,000 from Russia. That’s about double the number of immigrants to Israel from former Soviet countries in 2019, the year before the pandemic limited immigration. Over 80% of all immigrants to Israel this year hail from formerly Soviet countries.

Osik Akselrud, regional director for Hillel International in Central Asia and Southeastern Europe and Limmud FSU Ukraine chair, said this is a particularly dark time for Jews in the former Soviet Union. With Russia’s war against Ukraine now in its 10th month, those remaining in Ukraine face the prospect of a freezing, dark winter without electricity.

“We are having a very hard time,” Akselrud said. “We feel part of the Limmud FSU family and are grateful for everything you’re doing for us, especially during these dramatic times. It’s like a breath of fresh air for all Ukrainians. Thank you for standing with us.”

Limmud FSU organizes Jewish learning festivals the world over for Jews with roots in the former Soviet Union.

The Tiberias event was held just a week before a scheduled Limmud FSU seminar in Warsaw, which took place Dec. 8-10. That gathering was focused on Ukrainian Jews still living in Ukraine as well as those who have fled to Europe and Israel to escape the war in their country. In March, Limmud FSU will hold another milestone conference: the first ever in Germany, another hub of refuge for Ukrainian Jews.

“The situation is devastating, and sadly it’s not getting better,” Matthew Bronfman, chairman of Limmud FSU, said of the war in Ukraine. “Berlin has been a desire of ours for more than a decade, and now with the recent influx of refugees there from war-torn regions, it’s amazing that we’ll be able to make it a reality for next March.”

Among the prominent speakers at the December conference were Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s outgoing finance minister and a native of the former Soviet republic of Moldova; Elkayim Rubinstein, former vice president of Israel’s Supreme Court; Ze’ev Elkin, Israel’s outgoing minister of Jerusalem affairs and minister of housing and construction; Eliezer Shkedi, former commander of the Israel Air Force from 2004 to 2008; Amir Avivi, founder & CEO of Israel’s Defense & Security Forum, a movement of Israeli security personnel advocating for Israel’s security needs; Rabbi Jonathan Porath, who recounted the story of his lifetime of experiences with Soviet and post-Soviet Jews spanning over 50 years; and Ephraim Lapid, former senior intelligence officer in the Israel Defense Forces.

Attendees of the December 2022 Limmud FSU conference in Tiberias, Israel, included, from left to right, Monaco Jewish leader Jacques Wolzok and Nazi hunters Beate Klarsfeld and Serge Klarsfeld. (Alex Khanin)

Lapid spoke of Israel’s essential role as a safe haven for Jews everywhere.

“If you’re Christian and you’re in trouble, can you come to Italy, a Christian nation, and say you want citizenship? Of course not. If you’re Muslim, can you go to Saudi Arabia and get automatic citizenship? It doesn’t exist,” Lapid said. “Israel is the only country in the world where Jews receive shelter, both physically and spiritually.”

Limmud FSU’s founder, Chaim Chesler, thanked the 150 volunteers who organized the Tiberias event and noted that more than 80,000 people have participated in Limmud FSU programs since 2005.

“Sandra Cahn and I created Limmud FSU nearly 18 years ago,” Chesler said. “Who would believe that after 18 years we’d continue to flourish and educate Jews now in 12 countries?”

Highlights of the weekend festival included performances of Hebrew and Yiddish hits by singer Vladi Blayberg and violinist Sanya Kroitor; a concert by Stas Gavrilov’s 10-piece Klezmerband; a master class given by Ukrainian ballerina Valeriya Kholodova; and a Russian-language standup comedy routine by Ilya Axelrod.

Special recognition was extended to world-famous Nazi hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, whose life mission has been to bring Nazi war criminals and their French collaborators to justice. The two received a sustained standing ovation following the screening of a short documentary film on the 76,000 French Jews who were deported to Nazi concentration camps during World War II; only 3,000 survived.

“I was a child during the Holocaust, and escaped arrest because my father built a hiding place in our house,” said Klarsfeld, 87. “When the Germans came, he opened the door and sacrificed himself, but we were hidden behind a false wall. They looked for us but didn’t find us. After the war, I devoted my life to tracking Nazi criminals and helping the State of Israel.”

Limmud FSU Israel participants listen during Ilya Axelrod’s stand-up performance in Tiberias, Israel, December 2022. (Yulia Berzon)

Among Limmud FSU Israel’s key supporters are the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, Nativ – Prime Minister’s Office, Genesis Philanthropy Group, the Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemet LeIsrael, the World Zionist Organization, UJA-Federation of New York and philanthropists Diane Wohl and Bill Hess.

Speakers also touched on Israeli politics on the eve of what’s expected to be the swearing-in of a new right-wing government headed by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rubinstein, who served as Israel’s attorney general from 1997 to 2003, urged the new government not to weaken the country’s Supreme Court, which he called “a defender of human and civil rights” — particularly when it comes to gender issues, issues of religion and state and equity between Jews and Arabs.

“The ability to petition decisions straight to the Supreme Court has made it a strategic asset of the State of Israel, and I’m concerned about ideas to curb the court’s powers,” Rubinstein said. “I hope the politicians understand that while the court may make mistakes and be criticized, there’s a difference between criticism and undermining the court’s work.”

Shkedi, who spent several years as El Al’s CEO after leaving the Israel Air Force, stressed the importance of Jewish unity and urged for an end to political infighting.

“You can think one way and me another, but that doesn’t mean I’m the only one who’s right,” he said. “The priority for Israel now is learning how to live together. This is our biggest mission.”


The post Amid surging aliyah, Jews from former USSR gather for community’s biggest annual event in Israel appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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British Jewish Leaders Call for Comprehensive Gov’t Strategy on Antisemitism Following Deadly Yom Kippur Attack

People react near the scene, after an attack in which a car was driven at pedestrians and stabbings were reported at a synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, on Yom Kippur, Oct. 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Phil Noble

Following the deadly Yom Kippur terrorist attack in Manchester earlier this month, Jewish leaders in Britain are calling on the government to crack down on rising antisemitism, demanding a comprehensive national strategy to protect the community amid an increasingly hostile environment.

On Tuesday, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Jewish Leadership Council, and the Union of Jewish Students issued a joint statement proposing a set of guidelines and policy recommendations for the government to tackle anti-Jewish hatred.

Together with other communal organizations, including the Community Security Trust, the document sets out policy priorities in four key areas: policing and security, extremism, civil society, and schools and universities.

Amid a persistent surge in antisemitic incidents, Jewish leaders said this document should serve as a foundation for continued efforts, while calling on the government, experts, and community partners to deepen discussion and collaboration to root out antisemitism in British society.

“Following the awful Yom Kippur attack at Heaton Park Synagogue we have seen a series of welcome announcements from the government,” Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said in a statement.

“However, these measures on their own will not be sufficient to meet the long-term society-wide challenge of confronting antisemitic hatred. We need to see a Comprehensive Government Strategy on Antisemitism,” he continued.

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and holiest day of the year in Judaism, a man identified by police as Jihad al-Shamie, 35, drove a car onto the grounds of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester, northern England, and went on a stabbing spree, leaving two Jewish men dead and at least three others critically injured.

The attack occurred as the congregation gathered to observe Yom Kippur and ended seven minutes later, when police shot the assailant dead.

Shortly after the attack, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced an emergency £10 million boost to Jewish communities to strengthen security at synagogues and schools, marking a record high in funding to safeguard religious institutions.

The Jewish community in Britain has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Last month, the British nongovernmental organization Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) released research conducted by YouGov which showed that those characterized as embracing “entrenched” antisemitic attitudes in the UK had grown to 21 percent, the highest figure on record, showing a jump from 16 percent in 2024 and 11 percent in 2021.

The survey came after the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, published a report in August showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marked the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.

In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism and an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.

Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.

According to government statistics, religious hate crime has reached record levels, with Jewish people targeted more than any other group.

Among the proposed measures and policy guidelines, the joint document unveiled this week calls for sustained visible policing at synagogues and schools, tougher enforcement against violent rhetoric at protests, greater powers for authorities to shut down extremist organizations, and stricter rules to tackle harassment and incitement on university campuses.

Louis Danker, president of the Union of Jewish Students, called for stronger and more coordinated government action to tackle antisemitism and extremism on campuses.

“Extreme student groups have never been so emboldened to glorify terrorism and incite hate,” he said in a statement. “The government must act with urgency to break the culture of impunity, clarify universities’ obligations, and root out antisemitism from our campuses.”

Keith Black, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, stressed that protecting Jewish life must go beyond physical security measures.

“We need sustained action to combat the root causes of antisemitism and extremism,” Black said in a statement.

“The murder of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, was a devastating blow to our community’s sense of safety and belonging in this country,” he continued.

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New York’s Met Museum Sued for Selling Van Gogh Painting Allegedly Looted by Nazis From Jewish Couple

View of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Met, founded in 1870, the largest art museum in the Americas, New York City. Photo: IMAGO/robertharding via Reuters Connect

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is being sued for selling a Vincent van Gogh painting that was allegedly seized by the Nazis from a Jewish couple during World War II.

The iconic museum acquired “Olive Picking” (1889) in 1956 for $125,000 from the Knoedler Gallery and sold the artwork to a Greek collector in 1972, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by The New York Times. The suit, reportedly filed Monday in the Federal District Court in Manhattan, argues that The Met should never have had possession of the painting because it allegedly belonged to Hedwig and Frederick Stern, a Jewish couple who lived in Munich, Germany, until December 1936, a year after they purchased the artwork.

The Sterns fled Germany with their six children to save themselves from Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. They were unable to take the Van Gogh painting with them because Nazi officials considered the artwork “German cultural property,” according to the lawsuit. After the painting was sold, the funds were put in a “blocked account” and later seized by the Nazis.

“In the decades since the end of World War II, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, purchased and sold in and through New York,” claimed the lawsuit filed by Judith Anne Silver, the heir of the Stern family. She also argued that The Met curator who bought and later sold the painting, Theodore Rousseau Jr., should have known the Van Gogh artwork was likely looted by the Nazis because he was “one of the world’s foremost experts on Nazi art looting,” noting his tenure as a lieutenant commander in the US Navy during World War II. Rousseau served in the Office of Strategic Services during the war and authored a report for the Art Looting Investigation Unit.

Silver is not only fighting to have the painting returned to her family but also seeking damages “for taking and detaining it,” as well as other fees.

The lawsuit targets The Met as well as the Athens-based Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, which is named after the Greek collector who bought “Olive Picking” from the New York institution. The foundation operates two museums – on the island of Andros and in Athens – and the oil on canvas painting is currently on view at the museum in Athens. According to the painting’s provenance listed on the foundation’s website, the Marlborough Fine Art gallery in London purchased “Olive Picking” from The Met before it was sold to the Goulandris private collection in 1972.

Heirs of the Stern family previously sued The Met and the Goulandris Foundation over the same painting in 2022 in California, but a judge dismissed the case. The family has now filed its lawsuit in New York.

‘To this day, the Goulandris Defendants continue to conceal how and when the BEG came into possession of the Painting; the Stern family’s ownership of the painting from 1935 to 1938; and the facts that the Nazis looted the painting from the Stern family, coerced the Sterns into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and confiscated the proceeds of the sale,” the new lawsuit claims.

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Germany Allocates More Than $1 Billion in Home Care for Holocaust Survivors Globally

Negotiations between the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and the German government, held this year in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Claims Conference

Germany has agreed to allocate more than $1 billion for home care for Holocaust survivors around the world in 2026, a nonprofit organization that negotiates and secures compensation for survivors of the Nazis’ atrocities announced on Wednesday.

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) said that following its latest negotiations with the German Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany agreed to increase home care funding for Holocaust survivors worldwide, bringing the total for next year to $1.08 billion. The amount is the largest budget secured for Holocaust survivor home care in the history of the Claims Conference. The assistance will better allow Holocaust survivors to live safely and comfortably in their own homes.

“It is deeply meaningful that, 80 years after liberation, the German government maintains its responsibility to those who suffered and survived,” said Ambassador Colette Avital, a Holocaust survivor and Claims Conference negotiation delegation member. “Every survivor — and every rescuer — deserves to live with dignity and to be seen, heard, and cared for.”

“This historic increase to home care funding reflects the complex and growing needs of Holocaust survivors worldwide,” Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor added in a statement. “While we are losing survivors at a rapid pace each year, those who remain are older, frailer, and in greater need than ever before. This budget is critical in providing each of them the opportunity to age in place, a dignity that was stolen from them in their youth.”

The average age of Holocaust survivors who receive home care through funding secured by the Claims Conference rose from 86 in 2018 to 88.5 in 2024. During the same time period, the number of survivors who qualified for full-time home care assistance due to a severe disability — such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, and dementia — nearly doubled.

“I’m almost blind and have the use of only one arm. Since my wife passed away several years ago, life hasn’t been easy,” said Holocaust survivor Simon Reznik. “My caregiver is my light — I wait for her to bring life back into my days. Without her help, I couldn’t manage even the basics. She means the world to me.”

The German government has also committed $205 million over the next four years to support Holocaust education, the Claims Conference announced. The funding will be used for Holocaust education programs that will include teacher training, academic research, and virtual reality experiences, which can potentially spread the reach of Holocaust education to a wider audience.

“It is imperative that we invest in the future of Holocaust education while we still have living witnesses who can share their first-hand testimonies of survival,” said Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Claims Conference. “Building strong curricula, forging new partnerships, and employing cutting-edge technology to preserve and share survivor testimonies will ensure the lessons of the Shoah are not forgotten. This is our moral obligation to the survivors of the Holocaust and to the six million who were murdered.”

Following negotiations with the Claims Conference, the German government also committed to extending Hardship Fund Supplemental Payments, which they previously pledged to pay annually to eligible Holocaust survivors through 2027. It has been extended through 2028 and will help more than 127,000 survivors worldwide. Also, non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, known as Righteous Rescuers, who are currently receiving a monthly pension from the Claims Conference will be eligible to receive home care similar to that provided to Jewish Holocaust survivors.

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