"Ten years ago…I
asked, 'have you ever been awake and felt as if you were dreaming?'
That is what the moment felt like to me and possibly to all
who were present. For more than 350 women sitting before me,
their will to assemble in Kiev at the International Conference
of Jewish Women was a pure leap of faith. Every woman present
left her mark on the organization we know today as Project
Kesher. The Conference also marked the start of Project Kesher
as a women's organization."
— Sallie E. Gratch, in 2004
In 1994, Project Kesher convened the International Conference
of Jewish Women in Kiev. Founder Sallie Gratch assembled 100
Jewish women from around the world. Her counterpart, Svetlana
Yakimenko, searched community by community across the CIS
and assembled 200 women from throughout the region. No one
knew what would come of the conference and social worker Sallie
Gratch was adamant that U.S. and Israeli attendees not predetermine
the outcome.
As woman after woman arrived at the conference, they were
struck by the sense that they were reunited members from the
same family. Participants shared memories of Judaism their
families, favorite foods, music and art. Inspired by the power
of being together, CIS participants returned to their communities
and slowly began to form small groups of women to share ideas
and provide each other with a safe space to begin their activism.
Thus, Project Kesher’s infrastructure of women’s
groups was born.
In June 2004, Project Kesher marked the tenth anniversary
of the Conference by bringing 250 women together for the Voyage
on the Volga, a weeklong journey by boat to towns impacted
by Project Kesher’s work. This trip was the catalyst
for the continued expansion of Project Kesher’s programming
in the region. In May 2007, the Summit on the Black Sea will
convene in Kiev and Yalta, Ukraine.
OTHER PAST EVENTS
>
Summit on the Black Sea May 14 -
May 21, 2007
>
Voyage on the Volga
>
Debbie Friedman Concerts
and Havdalahs
>
Jewish Museum Event
*
The Commonwealth of Independent States of the former Soviet
Union is known as the CIS.
