June 29--July 4

Sam Kliger,  AJC Director of Russian Jewish Affairs, visited Latvia to take part in the 8th International Conference "Jews in a Changing World" and  a series of events commemorating the 450th anniversary of the Jewish community in Latvia and the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Holocaust.  On behalf of AJC, Dr. Kliger greeted the conference participants along with American ambassador to Latvia Judith  Garber, Israeli ambassador Naftali Tamir, Latvian Foreign Minister Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis, and other dignitaries.  At the conference, Sam made a presentation on Russian Jews in America.
Dr. Kliger has met privately with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia,  Mr. Kristovskis.  Arkady Suharenko, the head of the Latvian Jewish community, also participated in the meeting.  Among the topics discussed were the situation in the Middle East, US - Latvian and US-Israel relations, the issue of restitution of Jewish communal property, and other.

AJC New York Chapter hosted its Annual Members' Meeting which featured Israeli Consul General, Ido Aharoni.

Among several new Board Members elected three are from the Russian speaking Jewish Community of New York:

Igor Dodin, Attorney
Peter Zalmayev, Director of Eurasia Democracy Initiative
David Storobin, Attorney

                                                     Monday, May 9, 2011

The Russian Jewish Congress Delegation with President Yury Kanner and Executive Director Alexei Karpov met with AJC's Executive Director David Harris and Director of Russian Division Sam Kliger.

April 27-29, 2011

AJC Global Forum

AJC Global Forum 2011 successfully concluded on April 29^th in Washington D.C. For descriptions of all the sessions, please visit:

http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.6756935/k.DD8D/2011_Global_Forum__Highlights.htm

The Russian Division organized a private dinner with the Azerbaijani Consul General in Los Angeles, Elin Suleymanov.

AJC’s Russian Division conducted a roundtable discussion “Russian-Jewish Community and its Future” co-chaired by Cheryl Fishbein and Sam Kliger. More than 35 leaders of the Russian-Jewish community worldwide participated in the intensive discussion.

At the concluding segment of the Global Forum Gala, two young Russian leaders – Masha Rifkin and David Storobin, expressed very moving gratitude to AJC, the American-Jewish community, and the USA by sharing their personal experience.

                                   Tuesday, April 5, 2011

                               20th Diplomatic Tour of Jewish New York

AJC carried out the 20th Diplomatic Tour of Jewish New York with the participation of more than 40 diplomats. Visits to the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue, Central Synagogue, and the Edmond J. Safra Synagogue contributed to understanding the New York Jewish Community. The Russian Division and Dr. Sam Kliger actively participated in the event.

                                             Wednesday, March 23, 2011

                            Russian-Jewish Leadership Program Seventh Session

The topic of the last seventh session of the Leadership Program was on Israel, Jewish Interest, and Jewish Diplomacy with David Harris, Executive Director of AJC. Congratulations on the 2011 Leadership Program graduates and good luck!

                                             Wednesday, March 16, 2011

                                  Russian-Jewish Leadership Program Sixth Session        

The topic of the sixth session of the Leadership Program was Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism today with Ken Stern, AJC's leading expert on anti-Semitism and extremism.

                                            Wednesday, March 2, 2011

                               Russian-Jewish Leadership Program Fifth Session 

The topic of the fifth session of the Leadership Program was Interethnic Relations and Coalition Building: Case Study with Ann Schaffer, Director of AJC's Belfer Center for American Pluralism.

                                              Wednesday, February 16, 2011 

                           Russian-Jewish Leadership Program Fourth Session

 The topic of the fourth session of the Leadership Program was Israel and American Jewish Identity with Dr. Steven Bayme, director of AJC’s contemporary Jewish Life and the author of Understanding Jewish History.

                                           Wednesday, February 9, 2011

 Dr. Sam Kliger, Director of the Russian Division at AJC,  spoke at RTN TV - Tree of Life. He discussed recent unfolding events in the Middle East. For more information, please visit: https://picasaweb.google.com/17july2009NYC/Sam#5573265414870779362

                                               Wednesday, February 9, 2011

                             Russian-Jewish Leadership Program Third Session 

The topic of the third session of the Leadership Program was Israel and Current Trends in International Islamic Terrorism. Yehudit Barsky, director of AJC’s Division on Middle East and International Terrorism, led the discussion.

                                                Wednesday, February 2, 2011 

                               Russian-Jewish Leadership Program Second Session

The topic of the second session of the Leadership Program was Israel and the United Nations: Present, Past and the Future. A guest speaker was Ambassador Aaron Jacob, AJC leading expert on the UN.

                                                Monday, January 31, 2011

                              Deputy Consul general of Israel to New York visit to AJC

On Monday, January 31, Shlomi Kofman, Deputy Consul of Israel, addressed a group of Russian-speaking leaders and discussed recent developments in the Middle East.

                                                Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Leadership Training Program at AJC starts Today

AJC launched a Russian Leadership Training Program, which will continue for 8 weeks. The focus of the program will be mostly on Israel, and a variety of aspects of its life, politics, and diplomacy.

Meeting time: Wednesday, 6:00pm-8:30pm;

Meeting place: AJC headquarters; 165 East, 56^th street, 7^th Floor Conference Room.

Registration for the program continues; if interested to apply, please contact:

Dr. Sam Kliger, Director of AJC Russian Department

phone: 212 891 6719

email: kligers@ajc.org