HAPPY PASSOVER FROM PROJECT
KESHER
April 2006
At Passover, the activists, Board and staff of
Project Kesher wish you a wonderful holiday and the opportunity
to once again relive and re-connect with the Jewish commitment
to move every human being from slavery to freedom. Through your
support of Project Kesher’s work, we know that it is possible
to keep this commitment alive. Click here to contribute.
Here is why:
On April 2, Project Kesher held our 12th International Women’s
Seder with more than 75 women’s groups in Russia, Ukraine,
Belarus and Kazakhstan participating.
Project Kesher’s Women’s Seders:
- Begin the preparation for the holiday and allow Jewish women
of all ages to come together, ask questions and learn
.
- Explore and celebrate the Exodus from Egypt
- Invite women of other cultures and religions to participate
and learn more about Jewish history and tradition
- Connect with one’s “personal liberation from slavery”
and learn how the concept of freedom for Project Kesher means
repairing the world through activism.
Why was this year’s Women’s Seders different from
all other years?
With every passing year Project Kesher women’s Seders
are becoming more creative and powerful through their social
activism. This year women’s groups from 7 different cities
celebrated for the first time. Also, for the first time, Project
Kesher conducted a Women’s Internet-Seder. Women’s
groups from Tula, Rybinsk, Tambov and Volgograd (Russia) participated.
What was especially significant is that students of ORT-Keshernet
classes, regardless of their nationality, participated. The
women shared their own life stories and explored what it means
to become “free from the slavery of circumstances”.
And for the first time, women from different communities joined
together to inspire each other to greater activism.
But what has not changed this year, is that each Women’s
Seder ended with participants committing to tikkun olam
through significant social activist programming. This Passover,
Project Kesher’s commitment to renewing Jewish life and
building stronger and safer communities throughout the regions
has continued to grow:
Here is how:
- We are now the largest facilitator of Sixteen Days to End
Domestic Violence in the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS), a program that combats and brings awareness to the
issue through programming in more than 150 communities annually.
A recent Moscow Times article reported that more than half
of all women in Russia have experienced domestic violence.
- We are part of a network of organizations that helped ensure
the recent passage of the International Marriage Brokers Act.
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the rise of
capitalism in the region, women from the CIS have become the
fastest growing “commodity” in the mail order bride
industry.
- Our anti-trafficking advocacy programs educate and protect
tens of thousands of women at risk throughout the region.
According to United Nations statistics, more than 500,000
women are currently missing and in danger of being held in
exploitive situations.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you for partnering
with Project Kesher in this important work. I wish you and your
family a happy and healthy holiday.
Karyn Gershon
Executive Director
