ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, PJ Library founder Harold Grinspoon began thinking deeply about the Russian Jewish community. Specifically, he considered it a sizable and important part of the Jewish people that PJ Library (along with many other Jewish programs and organizations) was not meeting in a significant or targeted way. Grinspoon believed that PJ Library could provide a powerful way to reach the Russian Jewish community. With a number of key partners, he set out to address his considerations, beginning in New York.
Last month, during its 10th Anniversary Gala, the Council of Jewish Emigre Community Organizations (COJECO) acknowledged Harold Grinspoon for the success that his ealry vision would ultimately yield in reaching the Russian Jewish community in New York. (See acknowledgement video below.)
CONSIDERING THE RUSSIAN POPULATION
Inside the Former Soviet Union (FSU), any expression of Jewishness was not only ridiculed and looked down upon, but it was also forbidden and punished.
In a Journal of Jewish Communal Service (Winter 2010) article entitled, “UJA-Federation of New York and the Russian Jewish Community: A Dialogue Shift from Paternalism to Opportunity,” writers Anna and Gene Rachmansky say this has had a significant effect on Jewish identity. While many Russian Jews living outside the FSU identify strongly and positively as Jews, the Rachmanskys write that only a “relatively small portion of Russian-speaking Jews (RSJ) living in Jewish communities throughout the world affiliate with the organized Jewish world.”
This is particularly noteworthy in New York, where Russian-speaking Jews comprise approximately 20 to 25 percent of the city’s total Jewish population, according to UJA-Federation 2002 New York Jewish Population study estimates.
SEEING A PJ LIBRARY OPPORTUNITY
Despite the identity challenges, Harold Grinspoon and Harold Grinspoon Foundation leaders saw the PJ Library program as presenting a number of key opportunities in reaching and engaging Russian-speaking Jewish families. For example, the program does not assume affiliation, giving it appeal among families looking for new ways to introduce Jewish themes, values, and traditions. Secondly, the program centers on literature and music, highly valued commodities in Russian culture.
With these advantages in mind, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Genesis Philanthropy Group launched a targeted effort to reach and engage Russian-speaking families.
REACHING 3,000 RUSSIAN FAMILIES
In partnership with leading UJA Federation of New York agencies and affiliated organizations -- Council of Jewish Emigre Community Organizations (COJECO), Edith and Carl Marks JCH of Bensonhurst, Kingsbay YM-YWHA, and the Shorefront YM-YWHA -- the PJ Library program has taken root among New York City’s Russian-speaking Jewish population and is growing rapidly.
As a Jewish Week writer Helen Chernikoff put it in her story, “A Russian Storybook Romance,” PJ Library’s books have “turned out to be a great fit for Russian Jews.”
Indeed, less than one year since the launch of PJ Library’s Russian engagement effort, more than 3,000 families of Russian-speaking background are signed-up and enjoying a new PJ Library title each month.
COJECO'S PJ LIBRARY VIDEO
Last month, Harold Grinspoon was honored at COJECO’s 10th Anniversary Gala. Attendees enjoyed the video below, which highlights the power of PJ Library in the Russian-speaking community. Fellow honorees included Feliks Frankel, COJECO chairman and founding lay leader, and Alec Brook Krasny, New York State Assemblyman and COJECO founding Executive Director.
UJA Federation of New York CEO John Ruskay recognized the three leaders for their contributions and spoke to the incredible growth of PJ Library within the region’s Russian-speaking Jewish community.
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April 15, 2012