Rabbi Eliyahu Essas, an Israeli, is the executive vice president, 22 and Zinovy Kogan is the executive director.

Many KEROOR services are designed to support small religious communities that do not have rabbis. KEROOR sponsors seminars for lay leaders, publishes an attractive wall calendar with detailed information about holidays, distributes tasteful and informative pocket calendars, issues information about the Holocaust, provides funding for holiday observances, and publishes a newsletter. Its assistance reaches dozens of Jewish groups across Russia.

KEROOR works closely with the Joint Distribution Committee in the latter's program of support to religious communities. Its relations with Chabad are less fruitful, in large part due to Chabad anger over KEROOR inclusion of and cooperation with Progressive communities.

International Organizations

27. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (known as JDC and Joint) provides support to Moscow Jews through various social services, cultural and religious activities, and education programs. According to Michael Steiner, the JDC director in Moscow, the major task of JDC in the Russian capital is building a Jewish communal infrastructure. Jews in Moscow possess the moti-vation and talent to do whatever work is required, but, at this time, they require partners in order to succeed. Mr. Steiner continued that Moscow Jews have their own agenda and JDC must respond to that agenda, rather than impose a JDC-inspired plan upon them.

Referring to needs in the welfare sphere, Mr. Steiner described circumstances for elderly people as "tragic". JDC cannot cope with the situation he said. Between 35,000 and 40,000 Jewish elderly in Moscow have been identified by JDC as needing assistance, but only about 10,000 of them actually receive aid. Such aid ranges from occasional food parcels to patronage services. 23 About 4,000 Jews in Moscow are homebound, but only about 1,000 receive necessary support. Needs of the vision- and hearing-impaired are addressed only minimally. It is unlikely that the situation will improve. Although emigration has decreased, younger people still leave Moscow, some of them abandoning parents and other elderly relatives.

Departing from its practice in other post-Soviet cities, JDC has not organized hasadim in Moscow.24 Instead, JDC works with and tries to strengthen existing social service organizations, such as Yad Ezra (with a caseload of approximately 1500 elderly clients), Chama (Rabbi Dovid Karpov), Bikur Cholim (based at the Choral Synagogue), and MEOD (described earlier). It supports two large soup kitchens, one in cooperation with Chama and REK, and several programs delivering meals-on-wheels to elderly Jews.

In response to a question, Mr. Steiner said that he was unaware of any Jewish community pharmacies in Moscow. However, he said that he would explore initiating such a program as there is an obvious need for them.

Mr. Steiner believes that between 50 and 100 Jewish children in Moscow have already been identified (by day schools, other institutions, and individuals) as potential residents of Jewish children's homes. He is aware of the plans of Rabbi Goldschmidt and Rabbi Karpov to develop such facilities. Once these institutions exist, they will attract disadvantaged Jewish children from other cities in Russia [as the Jewish children's homes in Ukraine have attracted youngsters from other cities in that state].

Acknowledging my awareness of JDC programs in the areas of religious programs, Jewish education, and Jewish culture, Mr. Steiner did not discuss these activities. However, JDC was instrumental in facilitating my meetings with Rashid Kaplanov of Sefer, Alexander Militarev of the Jewish University of Moscow, and the Hillel organization.

28. The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI or Sochnut) operates a variety of programs designed to encourage and facilitate emigration of Russian Jews to Israel. Alla Levy is Director General of the JAFI Unit for the FSU and Eastern Europe and, since mid-1997, Head of the JAFI Delegation in Moscow as well. Ms. Levy was born and raised in Moscow.

Perhaps the best-known programs of JAFI are Hebrew classes (ulpanim). The Moscow-area Hebrew program is directed by Natalia Lifshitz, a native of Vilnius. Ms. Lifshitz reported that 34 Hebrew classes, each with at least 10 students, were operating in seven districts of Moscow at the time of my visit. In all, 638 adults were enrolled. Ms. Lifshitz anticipated that almost all would emigrate to Israel in the near future; those who would not do so are a few individuals who study Hebrew because of a general interest in Judaism and/or Israeli culture and others whose departure will be delayed because they are caring for elderly parents who are not candidates for aliyah. The Hebrew classes, usually held in the evening or late afternoon and on Sunday, are taught by 30 local Hebrew teachers, who have been trained by Ms. Lifshitz. The curriculum includes background information about Jewish and Israeli holidays, in addition to the Hebrew language itself. Most classroom space is rented from public schools in which the principal is Jewish and friendly.

In addition to offering Hebrew instruction in the city of Moscow itself, JAFI operates 24 Hebrew classes in a large area around Moscow, known historically as the Golden Ring. This area stretches from Rybinsk in the north to Kursk in the south and from Smolensk in the west to Tambov in the east. Ms. Lifshitz visits teachers of these classes periodically and the teachers come into Moscow on a regular basis for JAFI pedagogical seminars.

A Sunday visit was made to a Moscow district cultural center in which JAFI rents space for multiple activities enrolling almost 300 Jews. In addition to several ulpan classes at various proficiency levels, JAFI operates a Sunday school in this building that enrolls children (ages four to 12) of adult ulpan students; the Sunday school program includes holiday celebrations, Israeli music and dance, arts and crafts, and other activities. In another room, 28 adolescents were participating in Limudia, a program designed to prepare them for examinations determining entrance into Naaleh or Sela. 25 Limudia participants meet for six hours every Sunday, devoting two hours to each of three subjects: (1) English; (2) mathematics 26; and (3) a course combining Hebrew, Jewish tradition, and Land of Israel studies. A fourth activity is a Family Club, a new venture attracting parents with school-age children. On the day of the visit, several weeks before Chanukah, families were engaged in several Chanukah-related projects, including making menorahs. It is hoped that adults will enter ulpan classes and eventually make aliyah with their families.