Dear Visitor,
Welcome to the Internet site of the Federation of the Jewish Communities of Serbia!

It now since the first proposal was made at the meeting of the Executive Board of the Federation to post this site. It has taken time for us to change and accept that we need it. Truely, the question remains: was all of this time needed only to change our mind or to change the Executive Board of the Federation?
Either way, this site is now before you, and please use it.
It will provide reliable and prompt information of events in our community and development s and events in other communities which are linked or relevant to us. There have been some opinions that the site will “suffocate” the Bulletin and be the end of it. Now, we have the site and, as stated by many readers of the Bulletin, this newspaper is now better than ever.
The site and the Bulletin are two parts of one informative whole. Each of them has its tasks and goals. I am convinced that both will be achieved.
Since January 2009, the Bulletin will, in line with its contents, tasks and goals, be renamed to its old name of the Jewish Review.
It is now possible for you, from your “armchair”, to visit the Jewish Historical Museum, several Jewish communities in Serbia, European and international Jewish organizations, institutions, foundations, and so on. You can do this by just clicking a link.
Through the site you can also access and read the Bulletin, and under the “Mišpaha” project and the recently signed Declaration to establish a standing conference on cooperation of Jewish communities in South East Europe, we will recommend cooperation with the newspapers of Jewish communities from former Yugoslavia, so on our site you will be able to read also the Hakol, Omanut, the Jewish Gazette, etc.
So, when you enter our site, you also have entered the Jewish world and that is where you should search for and find all the answers to your questions and solutions for your uncertainties and doubts.
And let me also mention that our site is not a one-way street, so – please write to us. Your suggestions, proposals, recommendations, remarks and, of course, critisisms, are welcome because the site will be good only in the measure in which you are satisfied with it.

Welcome, once again, to the site of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Serbia.

Aleksandar Nećak
Honorary president of the FJCS

 

Message from the President of the State of Israel, HE Shimon Peres, to the Jewish communities in the Diaspora, on the occasion of the Jewish New Year 5770

Hopefully, the coming New Year will be marked by the realization of our aspirations: attaining peace, increasing security, promoting economic growth, safeguarding the future of the Jewish people and strengthening the ties between Israel and our Jewish brothers in the Diaspora.

The opportunity to attain peace is beckoning, and must be seized, even at the cost of painful concessions. The Arab world’s intractable position to say “No” to negotiations, “No” to recognition of Israel and “No” to peace, has today been replaced by the three-fold “Yes” to the Saudi Initiative. The international community is keen to support endeavors to move the peace process forward, and I am confident that, with concerted efforts, the vision of a comprehensive peace can be realized. This will create stability, tranquility, security and prosperity for our children and their children after them.

Nuclear arms in the possession of extremist fundamentalist hands pose a danger to the whole of humanity and not only to Israel. A broad and consolidated stand by the international community against Iran is called for. I pray that this terrible threat be removed from all of humanity and that the world may enjoy a new era of peace and security.

Israel’s economy is showing the first sparks of recovery from the global economic crisis. The macro-economic signs are promising, and these indications are reflected in a growing scope of investments, the hi-tech industry is reviving and start-up companies are again sprouting. This is the time to seize the opportunity. This is the time to invest in Israel in fields such as alternative energy, water production, homeland security infrastructures, educational and learning-related tools, and in the stem-cell industry. This constitutes the future and it is in our hands.

It is vital to build with our brethren in the Diaspora ties based on solid foundations of partnership and education. Indeed, the role of Jewish education in the Diaspora cannot be overestimated. It serves as the very building-blocks of the bridges that connect the Jewish communities abroad and Israel. It serves as the terms of engagement between the young generation of Jewish youth and our nation and as the stepping stones to a greater awareness of the significance of Israel-Diaspora relations. It will serve to preserve our rich heritage and traditions.

The spirit of partnership must be enhanced in every area of Israel-Diaspora relations. We face dramatic challenges, which again underscore the necessity to stand united in moments of trial, responsible one for the other, as dictated by our Prophets. Indeed, a threat to the well-being of Jewish communities in the world equates a threat to Israel itself, and the fate of Diaspora Jewry is at the very core of Israel’s heart.

Dear Friends, as we embark on this New Year, I want to convey my heartfelt good wishes to all of the Jewish people in the Diaspora, in the hope that it will be a year of joy and good tidings to all.

And let us pray for the safe return home of the hostages and missing soldiers.

Shana Tova U’Metukah,

Shimon Peres

 

Dear Friends,

As the period of the chagim approaches, it is a good time to reflect on the events of the past year.

Unfortunately, this year has not been a good one on many fronts: the global financial crisis has devastated the lives of many, Israel's integrity is ever more under attack, the path to peace in the Middle East seems even more difficult, and there has been a surge in anti-Semitism around the globe. The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, shows no sign of retreating from his anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and Holocaust denying positions, whilst Iran continues to defy UN sanctions and futher develop nuclear weapons.

The World Jewish Congress has redoubled its efforts to raise awareness of the real and imminent threat that Ahmadinejad's Iran poses to the world. To that end we have launched a worldwide campaign, in cooperation with our affiliated communities, on Iran. This campaign includes a coordinated advocacy effort, meetings with politicians, demonstrations, and a petition to the UN members requesting that they walk out on Ahmadinejad when he starts spouting his usual hateful rhetoric at the UN General Assembly later this month.

I would ask you to please join this campaign, by signing the petition below, and by distributing this as widely as possible within your communities.

At the UN Durban Review Conference in Geneva earlier this year, by pooling our resources and working together, we achieved a significant success in showing Ahmadinejad that his condemnation of Israel is not being tolerated. Let us, once again, ensure that he is shunned at the UN in New York.

Wishing you, your families, and your communities, a Happy, Healthy New Year 5770.

Ronald S. Lauder
WJC President