Triguboff Institute pairs with MASA
The Triguboff Institute in Israel has signed a cooperation agreement with MASA.
Triguboff Institute MASA group
Their joint activities will target the expansion of the Masa program amongst 2500 Russian-speaking young adults from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
The program provides hundreds of young Jews from the former USSR who come to Israel through MASA with an opportunity to see Israel through the lens of their own role in the history of the Jewish people and to learn more about their roots.
Annually, hundreds of young people of Jewish descent take part in the Masa ID program. It aims to engage the participants in a number of in-depth seminars dealing with modern Israeli society and to bring them to historical sites associated with Zionist history and Judaism, giving them a vivid sense of belonging to the Jewish people and to the country. As a result, 95% of Masa ID participants immigrate to Israel and build their lives here.
Now through the Masa ID program, participants will be able, in addition to visiting historical sites, to take a training course of 10 interactive seminars on various topics related to Zionist history, Judaism, self-identification and the connection between the Jewish people and its State. The courses will help them to learn more about Israel and its society, as well as to find their place in Israel.
Natalia Agafonova (26), comes from Moscow and is a Masa ID participant: She said: “It was an unforgettable experience that allowed me to understand myself better, the State of Israel and my place in it. The question “Who is a Jew?” became a key one for me. Earlier, I had not been able to answer this question. It had been difficult for me to identify myself with Jewry, but during Masa ID I really felt my connection to the land of Israel, to the people and our culture.”
The cooperation agreement between the two organisations was signed following Sydney’s Harry Triguboff’s visit to Israel earlier this year.
Triguboff Institute, founded by Sydney developer Harry Triguboff, supports forging Jewish Identity amongst young adults of Jewish descent, to promote their process of absorption and integration as new “OLIM” from the former USSR in Israel. Since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine in February 2022, the Triguboff Institute expanded its activities to assist in communities that found refuge in European cities, including a winter Chanukah camp for young adults from Ukraine at the Balaton Lake in Hungry and seminars on Jewish heritage in Warsaw.
The Triguboff Institute CEO Shalom Norman commented: “Even before the war in Ukraine, the vast majority of Masa programs graduates eventually made Aliyah. Our goal is to equip them with tools that are helpful in the absorption process and to acquaint them in a solid way with their Jewish roots and the multi-dimensional “Jewish peoplehood”. The Israeli government matches the Masa ID budget allocated by the Triguboff Institute. Ironically, the Masa participants get more of Jewish substance than an average secular Israeli-born youngster”
Reuven Grinberg is the Director of Masa Russian Language Programs. He said: “I thank the leaders of the Triguboff Institute for recognising the enormous potential of the Masa organisation and for their tremendous support that will allow us to expand and deepen the Masa ID.”
The Masa organisation was founded by the Jewish Agency (Sochnut) and the government of Israel. Thanks to it, about 14,000 young people with Jewish roots from 62 countries fly to Israel every year for long-term educational programs lasting from 4 to 10 months. With the hostilities in Ukraine and the changes in Russian internal policies, the number of Russian-speaking participants of Masa programs has increased in 2023 by 70% .
