In our article entitled "I'm blessed to be able to help Jews" about Solly Kaplinski in December, we raised the question: "Where is he taking young entrepreneurial SA Jews next year?"
Well, the secret’s out. “I can now formally answer that for your readers as we launch our ‘Young Jewish Executives Mission to the Baltics’ which I will be leading from 18-22 March 2012.
The mission takes place in Latvia and Lithuania and as well as exploring our Jewish heritage in the ghettos and shtetls of Latvia and Lithuania, we will engage with Jewish people in the Baltics’ Jewish community, witnessing the miracle of Jewish renewal - and the issues and challenges they are confronted with, and be networking with local businessmen, political leaders and academics.
Solly told MyShtetl this week that “this is the first of a number of exciting 'Young Jewish South African Executives' missions [The Joint] have in the pipeline.”
For the past six years Solly has been the director of the Overseas Joint Ventures division of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee – more commonly known as the JDC or, simply, the ‘Joint.’
Solly is also a long-time registered Shtetler who gets
Our newsletter weekly and says it keeps him in touch
The ‘Joint’ is neither a place where they send ganovim nor something that party-animals like to puff on. The Joint is the world’s largest Jewish NGO, based in the US but active in 65-odd countries. They have an annual budget of $300-million (almost R2.5-billion) and all of this is spent outside of North America – most of it in Israel and the Former Soviet Union.
As a representative of the Joint, Solly has been involved in community building and leadership development in various parts of the world. He is also a shidduch maker for friends and supporters who are investing in reviving Judaism in the post-communist Baltic States, in FSU and in central and Eastern Europe.
Now he will be leading this special group of young SA Jewish executives to the Baltic, both as a tour of their roots as well as to meet and network with the Jewish business community there. The group will not be too large and many have already signed up.
Anyone interested in the tour or anything else to do with the work of “The Joint” should contact Solly at: sollyk@jdc.org.il
Some of the highlights of the tour:
(Also CLICK to open the PDF BROCHURE we have loaded on MyShtetl with details & an application form. Read, download, print or forward.)
* Explore centuries of Jewish life in the old towns and ghettos of Riga, Kaunas (Kovno) and Vilnius (Vilna)
* Walk through ancient Shtetls
* Witness the Ponar forest, the site of mass executions of Jews during WWII – accompanied by one of the few locals to escape the Ghetto and join the Jewish partisans
* Exposure to JDC's humanitarian assistance to the elderly and children at risk
* Experience Jewish Renewal through interactions with young Jewish leadership and community members
* Network with local Jewish businessmen, foreign diplomats and intellectuals
* A private briefing with one of Lithuania's most prominent lawyers and the leading legal expert on Lithuanian citizenship
* Visit the Shalom Aleichem Jewish Day School and the local Jewish Community Centres
Questions asked and answered:
Who will be leading the mission? The mission will be under the direction of Mr. Solly Kaplinski, executive director of overseas joint ventures for JDC, a world renowned educator and past-principal of Herzlia High School (Cape Town).
What is JDC? For almost 100 years, the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the world’s largest Jewish humanitarian and welfare organization, has been dedicated to helping Jews in Israel and around the world. Whether it is elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union, young Jews in Vilna who want to reconnect to the Jewish people, or Israeli at-risk teenagers, JDC is there to help. JDC and its partners work to rescue Jewish lives at risk, bring relief to Jews in need, renew lost bonds to Jewish identity and Jewish culture, and help Israel overcome the social challenges of its most vulnerable citizens, both Jewish and non-Jewish. JDC also assists victims of disaster in countries like Haiti, Turkey and Japan and has built schools and wells in Ethiopia and a youth village in Rwanda. Wherever JDC works, it is viewed as a trusted partner to propel vulnerable Jewish and non-Jewish communities from dependency to self-sustainability. [www.jdc.org]
Does my submitting the application form guarantee me a place on the group? There are more interested applicants than there are places. As we are trying to keep the group small, the final discretion as to who will comprise the group lies with JDC. Similar visits are being planned for the future.
What about kashrut? The mission will be catered kosher.
Are all meals, hotels, land transport and transfers included in the price of $1,600? Yes.
Can I bring a spouse or child? The nature of the 5-day mission will not be suitable to children, but spouses are welcome to apply.
Do I have to live in SA to participate in the mission? Although preference will be for South Africans who currently live in South Africa, those living abroad will also be closely considered and are encouraged to apply.
If I am interested in acquiring a Lithuanian passport is this tour for me? The group will have a private briefing with a leading expert on this issue. Following this initial introduction, those who are interested will then follow up at their own discretion. JDC can facilitate the meeting but cannot in any way act as agent or guarantee the outcome of this process.
Must I arrange my own flights? Yes please. However please only arrange and pay for your flights once you have received confirmation that you will be participating in the mission. The mission begins in Riga (Latvia) in the evening of Sunday 18th March 2012, and ends in Vilnius (Lithuania) on the afternoon of Thursday 22nd March 2012.
When must I pay the $1,600? Only once you have been notified of your participation in the mission, you will be given a number of alternatives to make the payment.
If you have any further queries, says Solly Kaplinski, feel free to contact him anytime on: sollyk@jdc.org.il
Solly with his old friend Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft at Beyachad last week - they work together closely.JPG
"Witnessing the miracle of
"Witnessing the miracle of Jewish renewal in the Baltic states"
This is not a miracle. This is a tragedy.
It's like renewal of Judaism in Egypt after the first exile.
For nearly 2000 years Jews have been living in exile where they were persecuted and killed in the millions.
Now, God in His mercy, has restored sovereignty to His people in much of Eretz Yisrael, and foolish and ungratefull Jews still persist in renewing Judaism in foreign Lands.
European and Baltic states have no buisness being a hub of Jewish life again.
There is no future for a Jewish Europe.
For the first time in almost 2000 years Israel is getting a shot at being the Jewish hub, and we need strengthen our true home, and not throw Jewish money away in foreign Lands.
Chabad have spent millions of dollars of renewing Judaism in Germany, including the erection of a 100sq.meter replica of the Kotel in murderous Berlin. IS THIS A MIRACLE? NO! NO! NO!.
No Solly, I think your idea is a mistake.
Rather take our young executives to Judea and Samaria, where our real future is.
P.S. It is halachically prohibited for a Jew to derive any benefit from a country where we have been persecuted . (Rambam Hilchot Sanhedrin 15;9)