4 March 2020
March 2nd, MGIMO hosted a meeting with the Charge d'Affaires of Israel in the Russian Federation, Yacov Livne, and the Adviser to the Embassy of Israel, also Regional Director of the “Nativ” representative office for Russia, Belarus and the Baltic countries, Yana Agmon.
The event was set up by the All-Russian Union of Jewish Students (RUJS) and the MGIMO Union of Israeli Students (Jewish Club) with the help of the Embassy of Israel in Russia and the representative office of “Nativ”.
Before the event, the Vice-Rector for Human Resources V.Morozov received the guests and noted that MGIMO has created a specific module during which Israeli ambassadors and diplomats visit MGIMO and meet with our students and faculty members. He added that the University strongly supports the initiatives of national clubs and communities, among which the Jewish Club, which is a member of the All-Russian Union of Jewish Students (RUJS).
The main event brought together many guests, mainly students of MGIMO and other Moscow universities. The Deputy Dean of MGIMO’s School of International Business and Administration, T.Isachenko and the Hebrew teacher Yu.Kostenko also attended the meeting.
The event was kicked off by the President of the All-Russian Union of Jewish Students (RUJS) Shota Mirilashvili, who welcomed all the guests and introduced some of the speakers. The Charge d'Affaires of Israel in Russia, Yacov Livne, remarked that the date of the event coincides with the third Knesset election process and that the day is an important one for Israeli democracy. In his speech, Yacov Livne emphasized the importance of Russian-Israeli relations and spoke about the time he spent working at the Israeli Embassy in Russia in the 1990s. The guest of honor answered many questions from the audience about the elections in Israel and the formation of the government, Israel’s security interests, the Middle East settlement and the "deal of the century", the fight against coronavirus and the ways to expand political, cultural and economic relations between two countries. Yacov Livne remarked with enthusiasm that Russian-Israeli relations have a great potential and that much has already been achieved in bilateral cooperation.
In following, the Head of the “Nativ” representative office in Russia, Belarus and the Baltic countries, Yana Agmon gave a talk on the different projects developed by the “Nativ” Israeli cultural centers in Russia. There are currently “Nativ” centres operating in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. The speaker underlined the priorities of the “Nativ” projects, which provide everyone with the opportunity to study Hebrew. “Learning a language is the best way to get to know a country, its culture and traditions. Hence, we offer the opportunity not just to learn a language but also to get to know Israel itself” added the guest. Yana Agmon also underlined the high level of cultural cooperation between Russia and Israel, and remarked that Israeli cultural figures and artists are received with great enthusiasm in Russia.
During the meeting, the RUJS representatives together with the Embassy of Israel and the “Nativ” representative office agreed to pursue their cooperation and to organize joint activities and projects in the future with the support of MGIMO. After the meeting, the students continued speaking with the guests for a long time.
The event was sponsored by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the Office for Work with Students and Graduates and the MGIMO International Students Association.
— See the MGIMO web-site for russian version
