Women’s Leadership Training
The centerpiece of the PK model is leadership development training where participants learn universal religious values that support activism to improve their societies. Graduates of the program have strong grassroots organizing skills, can facilitate needs assessment and the development and implementation of creative, effective programs, evaluate their impact and communicate their results in reports and through the media.
In 2019, Project Kesher supported leadership training and Jewish education for over 100 women in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Israel with the highest caliber teachers and professional evaluation. New leaders implemented 450+ programs reaching 24,000 people with programs on life-saving Breast Cancer early detection, promoting peace and tolerance, Jewish celebrations and learning, and more.
Mara Schwartz ORT KesherNet Centers
Project Kesher supports 13 award-winning Mara Schwartz ORT Keshernet centers in Belarus, Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine that train women in financial best practices and technological skills to stay relevant in the workplace. The centers have graduated over 62,000 women at a cost of less than $100 per woman. The goal is to help women gain job skills and financial self-sufficiency, to protect themselves and their families. With the severe economic downturn in the entire region, these centers have become ever more vital by providing basic and advanced computer skills, economic and legal literacy training, and a home for PK women’s groups, social activism training and activities, and for the Jewish community as a whole. Trainings include basic computer and Internet competency, professional trainings for tech jobs, financial literacy for personal and family development, employment skills for job-seekers.
Beit Binah Jewish Learning
Beit Binah is a training program that teaches women to become Torah study facilitators, with a focus on social activism. In 132 intensive classroom hours, facilitators are taught Bible studies, Jewish ethics & faith, and classroom dynamics to prepare for bringing their Jewish knowledge to their local communities. Project Kesher staffs the training program with Jewish leaders from the Progressive (Reform and Reconstructionist), Masorti (Conservative), Modern Orthodox and Orthodox movements to expose participants to a spectrum of religious viewpoints and observances. Beit Binah now has more than 90 ongoing bi-monthly Torah study groups in communities throughout Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Groups meet once a month to study text, followed by a second meeting to plan and implement social activist projects inspired by the reading.
Pictured: Rabbi Julia Gris at her congregation in Odessa, Ukraine, after receiving a Torah Scroll from Project Kesher with Olya Weinstein, Director of Education and Development reading text.
Mother Daughter Jewish Leadership Retreats
Jewish mother and daughter pairs from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine attend a first-time Project Kesher shabbat retreat, where they become partners in building Jewish life and advocating for women and girls in their communities. Retreats work to improve communications, define healthy relationships and boundaries, and empower women and girls to go back to their towns and create social action projects in the areas of interfaith coalitions, women’s health, Jewish life, and social justice.
In 2019, four Mother/Daughter Jewish Leadership Retreats were held in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. 80 new women leaders ages 14-48 from 20 different cities were trained. In total, the 37 mother/daughter pairs implemented programs reaching over 1,500 Jewish women. Lolita participated in a seminar with her daughter, Anastasia. After the seminar Lolita became a women’s group leader in her hometown of Taganrog, Russia. Lolita shares, “Being introduced to Jewish life has changed my life dramatically. Our family started to celebrate Shabbat and holidays. My daughter shares my passion for Jewish life and helps me organize activities in the Jewish community.”
Pictured: Mother/Daughter pair at Project Kesher’s 2017 retreat.
Ending Gender Violence
PK-trained leaders are at the forefront of activism to educate about domestic violence, elder abuse, and human trafficking. Groups advocate for better policies, laws, and enforcement, and work to change societal attitudes about violence against women (children, the elderly, and disabled) in all its forms. Programs promote healthy relationships and provide support for victims of violence. In Israel, 24 PKI activists graduated from the first Russian-language course to train activists and volunteers as support counselors in Israel in partnership with Maslan The Negev's Rape Crisis Center to respond to the vast need for gender violence awareness, intervention, and support in the Russian-speaking community throughout Israel.
The '16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence' campaign grows each year through the Project Kesher network. In 2019, the work became more sophisticated and the reach expanded. 2,000 people in 49 cities took part in 57 unique social action programs. 118 partner organizations engaged in the campaign including Jewish, secular, and faith-based NGOs, academic and educational institutions, and law enforcement. 33,000 people were reached through publications, blogs, posts, videos, and articles. 14 trainings for 100+ youth and teens focused on healthy relationships, consent, signs of dating violence, and resources for information and help.
Fighting the Spread of HIV
With the fastest-growing HIV/AIDS population outside of Africa, Ukraine remains tentative in its efforts to educate its population about this disease. Project Kesher women's groups are actively engaged in raising awareness and initiating programs to prevent AIDS from spreading. Today, Project Kesher works closely with organizations specializing in HIV/AIDS helping to de-stigmatize the disease, educate women about how it spreads and encourage people to go for testing.
Pictured: Project Kesher activists celebrating “A Day of Health” in Odessa, Ukraine.
Breast Cancer Awareness and Early Detection
Every year, 50,000 women in the region are newly diagnosed with breast cancer. The breast cancer rate has increased 64% over the last 20 years. Rates are even higher for Ashkenazi Jewish women who live in the path of the Chernobyl cloud. PK-trained leaders get information out into the community and confidently address taboos that might prevent women from seeking tests and treatment for sexual health issues, breast cancer, postpartum depression, and more. Working with women, health care professionals, NGOs, and academic institutions, these programs get women accurate information about reproductive health care, community resources for a wide range of health concerns, and access to tests and treatments. Groups provide support and community for women going through differed health and mental health crises. The goal of PK advocacy programs in this area is to remove the taboos so deeply ingrained in Russian and Ukrainian society, around women’s bodies and health.
Pictured: PK Activists conducting an initiative for women’s health at a breast cancer awareness seminar.
Global Jewish Women's Celebrations
Project Kesher-trained leaders hosted Jewish holiday celebrations in 140+ locations throughout Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Belarus, Moldova, and Georgia in 2019, the 25th anniversary of the Global Women’s Passover Seders. Project Kesher-trained leaders held Rosh Hashanah celebrations in 40+ cities and reached 1000 people of different ages. PKR spearheaded a spiritual preparation campaign via social media “10 Days that Shook my Inner World” during the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Topics included repentance, forgiveness, self-worth, and Jewish education. Using the internet as a platform for Jewish gathering, this campaign reached 3,000 women.
On Simchat Torah more than 1,000 people studied, danced, and sang with 35 PK-returned Torah Scrolls. In Kursk, Russia, the Jewish community celebrated a particularly meaningful holiday- their first Simchat Torah with their own PK Torah scroll. Julia, a longtime PKR leader, shared with us: “I came to PK through my mom 11 years ago, and now my daughter is a teen leader in our community. It is very moving to receive the Torah scroll for our community alongside my mom and my daughter from our PK community. Our community has been waiting a long time for a Torah of our own. Women brought the Torah and women are leading the community now.”
Interfaith and Multiethnic Coalitions
Our inclusiveness is our strength. By linking ethnic and religious groups, Project Kesher builds strong communities and promotes tolerance. These multi-ethnic coalitions have been instrumental in diminishing and/or responding to incidents of anti-Semitism and other forms of ethnic intolerance. As we work with our counterparts, they learn about our values and our commitment to building a just and civil society that serves all people. PK activists in Russia and have built an interfaith coalition network with 15 multi-ethnic women’s groups in Ukraine alone conducting programs that gather community representatives communities to discuss shared issues of concern and ways to collaborate to help the region overcome these challenges. In the framework of this program, professionals, lay leaders, government officials, and community activists have collaborated to promote tolerance and joint-programs that save lives. Ethnicities represented in this collaborative project have included: Jewish, Tatar, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Moroccan, Greek, Kazakh, Ukrainian, Roma, Armenian, Georgian, and Hindu. Additional groups represented include people with disabilities, internally displaced persons (IDPs), single-mothers, and members of the LGBTQ community. In 2018-2019, PK’s interfaith cooperation program was implemented in 90 locations across Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, encompassed more than 120 activities, reached 7,000 women from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities, and engaged about 150 partner organizations.
Pictured: PK Israel activists along with their muslim partners making bread together.
Economic Empowerment and Financial Literacy Programs
PK programs provide tools for women, many of whom are under great stress, toward self-sufficiency and self-actualization, helping them to take control of their financial lives and fine-tune their professional skills.
Project Kesher Israel’s Financial Independence Program for Russian-speaking immigrants to Israel is gaining in popularity, offering 25 training sessions educating 289 people in nine cities in 2019. After the course, participants 60 years old and above, living on $20,000 a year saved an average of $1,100 per person. Younger participants, with greater annual income saved between $1,800- $,2200, after training with PKI. With an investment of $25,000, participants saved nearly 318,000 - approximately 1,200% return on investment.
Jewish Pluralism and Marriage Freedom in Israel
Project Kesher Israel is uniquely positioned to effect change in Israel by empowering Russian-speaking women to be leaders and activists. These women can reach deeply into the community, build Jewish identity, and influence change on key issues. The Project Kesher leadership training program in Israel teaches participants about Israeli civil topics, such as the pension system, workers rights, women’s health and safety, working with social media and more. The “train-the-trainer” methodology ensures materials are then shared with their women’s groups, maximizing the impact and broad outreach. A group of the most active Russian-Israeli women were selected for a special two-year training program which provides techniques for social activism and community organizing, and allows them to surface and advocate for important issues in their communities, the public-at-large and in government. The women trained are now designing and implementing community-wide programming to bring dialogue, education, and ultimately changes in attitude to issues important to the Russian-speaking community and to all of Israel.
Pictured: Project Kesher Israel activists challenging their countries limitations on marriage freedom.
Documenting Women's Stories
Project Kesher, inspired by the Jewish Women’s Archive in the United States, seeks to “uncover, chronicle, and transmit to a broad public the rich history” of Jewish women in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Project Kesher will document the stories of domestic Judaism that helped women surreptitiously sustain Jewish life during the Communist Era through their stories, family traditions, culture and social activism. Finally, Project Kesher will document the stories of women who, once Judaism could be practiced freely, were instrumental in the rebirth of Jewish life in their region.
In 2019, Project Kesher dedicated its archives at Brandeis University in November 2019 with a day of global Jewish feminist conversation in partnership with Brandeis University Archives & Special Collections, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, and the Jewish Women’s Archive. Surella Seelig, Outreach & Special Projects Archivist at Brandeis University put it best: “I think it is fair to say that the work in which Project Kesher has engaged since 1989 is at its core an act of rebellion. A rebellion against the oppression of communist states, a rebellion against the oppression of women, Judaism, and community. The materials that make up the Project Kesher archives tell this important story and document this rebellion.”
Pictured: Center, Sallie Gratch, Founder, Project Kesher, gathering with potential activists in the late 1980s, Povarovka, Russia.
Torah Return Project
Seventy years ago, Torah Scrolls were exiled from Eastern Europe. At first, the Torahs went underground; Jews passed them from house to house and met in basements to read the Torah. Then, faced with Siberia or death, they smuggled the scrolls out of the country. The practice of Judaism sputtered out in the region. With the renewal of Jewish life in the region, there has been a shortage of Torah Scrolls. In June 2004, Project Kesher brought six Torahs from the United States and put them in the hands of six of their leaders, who brought them home to their communities. In most cases, there had not been a single Torah in those communities. To date, Project Kesher has since sent 37 Torah Scrolls to the region. Wherever they have gone, Jews have come forward to study, to become bar/bat mitzvah, and to celebrate together. They have served as a locus of Torah-centered activism.
Pictured: Torah presented to the Jewish community of Kursk, Russia in October 2018.
Jewish Text Study to Health Activism
Each month, approximately 1,500 women in the Project Kesher network gather to study Jewish text and inspire each other to engage in women's health activism. Whether a group of women learns how to cook nutritious meals, accompany each other for mammograms, or meet with pregnant women to discuss pre-natal care, the project makes the text come alive through the activities of the participants.
The Beit Binah project provides Jewish women with two access points to deepen their Jewish identity -study and activism- a powerful combination.
Pictured: Celebrating Shabbat, at a Project Kesher seminar in 2018.
Representing Jewish Women in the Global Community
The staff of Project Kesher Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Israel have taught at global and national Jewish events including Limmud, Russian Jewish Congress’ International Conference on the Role of Women in the Jewish World, International Conference of the Central Welfare Office of the Jews in Germany, European Jewish Congress International Conference, First Future Youth Forum of the Youth Chamber of the Russian Federation, Masorti Women’s Torah Study Day in Israel, Wexner Summit on Gender: Safety and Equity in the Jewish and Israeli Work Space and Life, the Sixth International Conference on HIV\AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and more. Project Kesher-funded work was featured in the New Yorker, Jewish Journal, and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and many other local and Internet publications.
Women’s Health Outreach and Advocacy
This year, activists from 73 Jewish communities in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova worked on a wide variety of women’s health initiatives this year, conducting more than 350 activities that engaged 34,000 people directly and 1,000,000 indirectly through mass media, social media and public campaigns. More than half of these activities focused on early detection and treatment for breast cancer. As a result of our activism this year, 180 cases of cancer were diagnosed, 55% of them – at their early stages, and 85% of campaign participants committed to go for screening.
In 2018-2019, in partnership with Hromadske Radio and the Grand Canadian Challenge, PK has been implementing the “Truth about Women’s Health” a Ukrainian-wide podcast to educate women in Ukraine. To support this programming, PKU then kicked off complementary programming in 10 cities in Ukraine. PK implemented “Women’s Health – Right to Choice”, in 10 cities in Russia. Both projects aim to provide women of all age groups - youth and adults - with truthful and unbiased information on their health: physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive.