Conference Programme and the order of the speakers

The conference will open at 6.30pm with the chair for the evening, Edward Lucas, giving a brief introduce of the topic and speakers.

Josef Zissels will then give a presentation for about 25-30 minutes about the current situation in Ukrainian, with special emphasis on the implications of the political transformation as well as the ongoing confrontation in eastern Ukraine for the local Jewish population. This presentation will be in Russian with consecutive interpretation in to English. Questions will then be taken from the floor.

Following this will be a short presentation by Anton Shekhovtsov mapping the impact of far-right movements in Ukraine (and beyond) and the impact of Antisemitism in the current situation.

Finally, Antony Polonsky will take on the situation in Eastern Europe as a whole and indicate directions in which the discussion should take.

After a very short break there the audience will be given an opportunity to contribute to the discussion which will be followed by a return to the panellists for further comments and replies to questions posed from the floor.

The conference will conclude around 8.30pm.

 

An open letter to Vladimir Putin from the leaders of the Ukrainian Jewish community

In March an open letter was sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin, signed by a number of important leaders of the Ukrainian Jewish community, including the guest speaker at the Future Perspectives conference Josef Zissels.

The letter, among other things, urged Mr Putin to not destabilise the Eastern region of Ukraine and to stop “attempts of delegitimizing the new Ukrainian government”.

The full letter is available to read via the following link:

http://eajc.org/page32/news43672.html

Please remember to sign up to the Future Perspectives Conference on our Eventbrite page to see Mr Zissels speak on the present situation in Ukraine.

Ukraine Panel Discussion at Chatham House

A quick tip here about another evening event focusing on current affairs in Ukraine, albeit with a slightly different angle than Future Perspectives.

The panel discussion ‘Russia, Ukraine and the West: Is confrontation inevitable?’ will be hosted at Chatham House and co-organised by the International New York Times (10 St James Square, London, SW1Y 4LE) on Wednesday the 25th June.

Registration is free (coincidentally, just like Future Perspectives), but it is the guess of the Future Perspectives editorial team that tickets will be in high demand.

http://www.chathamhouse.org/event/russia-ukraine-and-west-confrontation-inevitable

In case you can’t make it to this event there will also be an opportunity to watch it online, live-streamed on the Chatham House website.

Please remember, however, that Future Perspectives will not be live-streamed – so don’t take any chances and book your ticket on our eventbrite page today:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jews-and-the-ukrainian-revolution-future-perspectives-tickets-11916435379

One week to go

The editorial team at Future Perspectives is naturally becoming increasingly excited as the conference draws ever closer.

With only one week to go, tickets are being booked rapidly but there are still a few available via our eventbrite page; make sure to book yours as soon as possible:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jews-and-the-ukrainian-revolution-future-perspectives-tickets-11916435379

We hope to see you at the conference!

A view of the George Fox Rom at Friends House, where the conference will be held.

Useful Resources

For a vast amount of useful and interesting resources on the Ukraine, look no further than the YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe.

Follow the link below for a selection of interactive contemporary and historical maps of Ukraine and Eastern Europe and much more.

Each map includes a number of features and links to articles on locations and geography important to Jewish history in the region.

A map of Central Kiev from the YIVO Encyclopedia.

http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/maps.aspx?query=ukraine

Two weeks until the Future Perspectives conference

With just under two weeks left before the Future Perspectives conference on the 30th June, this is an ideal moment to share an article from the YIVO blog which asks David Fishman, professor of Jewish History at The Jewish Theological Seminary, for a Jewish perspective on the post-revolutionary situation in the country and the Russian annexation of Crimea.

http://www.yivo.org/blog/index.php/2014/04/18/what-now-jews-and-the-ukrainian-revolution-2014-interview-with-david-fishman/

Professor David E. Fishman (photo source: JTS)

YIVO – Yidisher visnshaftlekher institute (Jewish Scientific Institute) – is a research institute that gathers, studies and presents to the public archival information on Eastern European history and culture.

If you haven’t already signed up for the Future Perspectives conference, just follow this link to our evertbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jews-and-the-ukrainian-revolution-future-perspectives-tickets-11916435379

6 months since Josef Zissels’ Speach at Euromaidan

Today has not only been Father’s Day in the UK but has also marked six months since Josef Zissels, Head of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine, addressed the crowd of protestors at Maidan Square in central Kiev. On a December day six months ago Mr Zissels declared that; “We [Ukraine] need a new government, a government of national unity that shall hold the country back from the gaping pit, that shall preserve its integrity, prevent discord and civil war, and prepares civilized elections with no falsification or government resources used”.

The full text of his speech can be found translated via this link:

http://ukma.edu.ua/eng/index.php/news/482-speech-of-josef-zissels-at-euromaidan

Mr Zissels will be speaking on the current situation of the Ukrainian revolution and the country’s Jewish community in London at the Future Perspectives conference on the 30th of June.

Josef Zissels speaking at Euromaidan in Kiev last December.

To register for the conference, which is free and open to the public, follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jews-and-the-ukrainian-revolution-future-perspectives-tickets-11916435379

 

Date and Location

The conference will be held at Friends House in Central London, opposite Euston Station and close to University College London, on the 30th of June starting at 6pm.

The address is 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ.

Register for the event within the click of a mouse on our Eventbrite site, here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jews-and-the-ukranian-revolution-future-perspectives-tickets-11916435379

A street view of Friends House in Central London, where the conference will be held.

Conference Registration

Join the conference via Eventbrite.

The Eventbrite page for the conference is now live. Registering through this page will be the easiest and swiftest way of getting a guaranteed seat at the conference. Simply follow the link below and sign up for a free ticket.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jews-and-the-ukranian-revolution-future-perspectives-tickets-11916435379

 

 

 

 

Jews and the Ukrainian Revolution: Future Perspectives

The discussion of the current volatile situation in Ukraine after the overthrow of president Yanukovich in February 2014 is marked by frequent references to the precarious situation of the large Ukrainian Jewish community (aproximately 300,000 people), particularly the threat of growing antisemitism.

The Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies is arranging a conference to provide the public and the academic world with reliable narratives of current developments. This information will be provided by a very senior representative of the Ukrianian Jewish community, Josef Zissels, and specialised academics, and presented in an open and accessible setting (Friends House, London).

The speakers are Prof Antony Polonsky (IPJS; Brandeis University), Dr François Guesnet (IPJS; UCL), Dr Anton Shekhovtsov (UCL School for Slavonic and Eastern European Studies, a specialist on far right movements in Eastern Europe) and Josef Zissels (The Chair of the Ukrianian Confederation of Jewish Organisations). The event will be moderated by Mr Edward Lucas, senior editor at The Economist.

This Blog will cover the lead-up to the conference with all the latest up-to-date information and is run by David Dahlborn of the UCL Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

 

Join the conference via Eventbrite.

The event is open to the public and free of charge.