Zionism in Germany – from now on with a “Russian” voice!

In December, 2014, an important and somewhat historic event took place: the European Forum of Russian-speaking Jewry officially joined the Zionist Federation of Germany - the European representation of the World Forum of Russian-speaking Jewry.

Thus, the voice of the “Russian” Jews in Germany became a full part of the all-German Zionist Federation. Forum Daily talks about this with the President of the European Forum, Mikhail Yudanin.

— Mikhail, why did Russian-speaking Jews need to join this structure?

“You know, this is not just one of many Jewish “offices.” This is an organization with a solid history. More than a hundred years ago, the Zionist movement was led by the Jews of Germany and Austria - Theodor Herzl, Max Nordau, David Wolfson, Otto Warburg and others. The Zionist Federation of Germany is, in fact, one of the oldest Zionist organizations in the world, the official representative of the World Zionist Organization in Germany and is thus an important body that influences politics in the Jewish community of this country.

In fact, our arrival there is a revival of the well-forgotten old - even a hundred years ago, it was the Jews from the Russian Empire who were active supporters of the world Zionist movement and they made practical efforts to revive Jewish life in the Land of Israel.

— What is the meaning of this introduction?

— It should be understood that today about 250 thousand Jews live in Germany, the vast majority of them are immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Despite this, Russian-speaking Jews are still not fully represented in the main Jewish organizations, and their influence on the activities of the community and the distribution of resources is insignificant. We intend to make significant changes to this situation. In a short period of time, we have achieved significant results, and we intend to continue to develop further.

—Who helped you on your way to the Zionist Federation?

— Many thanks to my friend, Dr. Dmitry Shchiglik, one of the leading leaders of Russian-speaking Jews in North America and the first vice-president of the World Forum of Russian-Speaking Jewry, who assisted and supported us along the way. Dmitry Shchiglik participated in an organized meeting with the Jewish Russian-speaking community of Germany, held in November of this year in Munich, together with the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Israel Faina Kirshenbaum and Alex Selsky, General Director of the World Forum.

Of course, it is very important to note the activities of our activists and volunteers, as well as the entire huge family of the World Forum of Russian-speaking Jewry, which is now active in strengthening the position of Russian-speaking Jews in the United States, Canada, Australia, and also in strengthening the support of the State of Israel.