American Jewish Congress partners with Jewish federation in former Soviet Union

The Federation of Jewish Communities of the Community of Independent States (FJC) and the American Jewish Congress (AJC) have signed a cooperation agreement in Moscow on Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference after the signing ceremony, FJC President Lev Levayev described the Memorandum as an historic document, one proving that Russia was on the path toward democracy and religious freedom. He pointed out that there has been a vibrant Jewish community life across Eurasia in recent years. The FJC, founded after the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union, now includes as many as 500 communities across Russia and the CIS. The Federation is also working to extend its outreach to European countries, such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Germany, Levayev said. In his opinion, cooperation between the FJC and AJC could be mutually beneficial. The Memorandum identifies priority areas of cooperation between the two organizations, including protection of the civil and religious rights of Jews, concerted efforts to fight anti-Semitism and xenophobia, consolidation of international and interregional cooperation, and development of Russo-Israeli and Russo-American relations.