St. Petersburg Partnership

Cleveland’s partnership with the Jewish community of St. Petersburg, Russia, has helped renew Jewish life by assisting in the creation of an organized, vibrant and self-sufficient Diaspora Jewish community.

In November 1998, the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland entered into a strategic partnership with the Jewish community of St. Petersburg to help renew Jewish life where Judaism was forbidden during 70 years of Communist rule.

In a concentrated effort to attract and connect unaffiliated Jews in St. Petersburg, engaging activities and programs with Jewish content are offered. As Jews in St. Petersburg learn more about their Jewish heritage they identify more readily as Jews, rather than merely being absorbed into the general population, losing their Jewish identity forever. The years of partnership between the Cleveland and St. Petersburg Jewish communities have had a significant impact on the revitalization of Jewish life in St. Petersburg. From Jewish summer camps to Israeli dancing to food relief programs for the elderly, the Federation helps support programs that create the connection. Today, there are more preschoolers, students, adults and older adults who enjoy and identify with their Jewish community.

The Partnership provides an exciting platform for involvement – Clevelanders meet with Russian special education teachers traveling to Cleveland, and create dynamic partnerships between physicians, educators and other professionals in Cleveland and St. Petersburg. The exchange has enabled each to learn from the other and has resulted in new programs in St. Petersburg initiated by Russian professionals.

The Federation, in conjunction with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), has helped the St. Petersburg community develop an impressive range of resources including a community-sponsored newspaper, programs for special needs children and their families, the Adain Lo Jewish kindergartens and Sunday Schools, Hillel programs, a teen club and family retreats. In 2005, construction of the YESOD, the new Jewish Community House, was completed. Funded in part by the Federation's Centennial Initiative, it was the first new Jewish building in St. Petersburg in 124 years, and has become a center for Jewish life.