Mayor of New York appreciated the contribution of Russian-speaking US Jews

New York Mayor Bill Di Blasio opened 11 on the evening of June with the American Month of Russian Heritage Month at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the colorful ceremony, the newly elected mayor of the largest metropolis of the United States presented five awards for his contribution to strengthening ties between American society and Russian-speaking immigrants, as well as between the United States and the countries of the former USSR.

Among those awarded are Alexander Levin, President of the World Forum of Russian-speaking Jewry, noted by the mayor of New York for his program “Russian-American Man of the Year”, which invites Russian-speaking Americans to choose the most prominent members of the community in seven nominations.

Di Blasio warmly thanked Alexander Levin for his confidence in the Russian-speaking Jewish community in the election of the mayor of the city.

Awards were also received by sculptor Boaz Vaadiya for promoting the heritage of the Bukhara-Jewish community, David Hallberg - the first American ballet dancer of the Bolshoi Theater, the Association of Russian-speaking US police and the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, Dr. Kairat Umarov.

Note that more than a million Russian-speaking immigrants, mostly Jews from the USSR, have moved to the United States since 1979. Many of them made great contributions to science, business, sports and innovation. Among them are Google founder Sergey Brin, writer Gary Shteyngart, singer Regina Spektor and Whatsapp founder Jan Koum.

“We are truly proud of the tremendous strides that Russian-speaking Jews have made in America in recent years, and we are confident that this is just the beginning—and that their contributions to America will continue to increase. We really appreciate your gratitude and friendship towards the Russian-speaking community of New York and the United States as a whole,” said Alexander Levin, addressing New York Mayor Bill Di Blasio.