Jewish Heritage Travel

In the summer of 2008, Genesis incubated a new initiative that provided free travel opportunities for Russian-speaking Jewish young adults to places around the world with a focus on Jewish identity and history. Two groups—one from Chicago and one from Philadelphia—were taken on an educational tour to Southern Spain and Gibraltar to teach the participants about the Jewish history in these regions, as well as engage them in discussions about Jewish peoplehood and their own Jewish identities. Strong pre- and post-trip programming was developed and the content was custom-designed by a leading academic who works on issues relating to Russian Jewish history and the contemporary Russian-speaking Jewish Diaspora. This pilot program included 10 participants from the FSU and allowed Genesis to see how and if the travel program can be expanded in the FSU as well as North America and Israel in the future.

Grant period: 2008. This program is not being continued in 2009.