Dear Sisters, dear Brothers,
My wife and I have recently returned from a four day visit to Strasbourg where we attended various sites and events to celebrate Jewish Heritage Day. The events in the Strasbourg area were a great success and at one site over two hundred visitors were unfortunately turned away due to overcrowding. Our thanks are due to Claude Bloch and her hard working colleagues for all their work in promoting Heritage Day.
In other countries too, Heritage Day activities have been successful in opening our cultural heritage to the wider community as well as to our own people.
There were various sites to see and activities to attend in some 20 countries and in the UK the events extend over a two week period due to the tremendous commitment of Valerie Bello and her team of helpers.
The need for Jewish Cultural and Educational activities is particularly strong in Central and Eastern Europe where decades of Communism have deprived so many of our people of a basic knowledge of our culture and practices. In this regard, under the leadership of Ralph Weill we are advancing our Makor Project from Bratislava to Kosice, Budapest and Prague. Our budget for this activity has been increased but additional funds are still needed. I hope that Western lodges, particularly those that are twinned with lodges in the East will offer support for the Makor Project. I invite all lodges to offer practical and financial support for this educational programme, further details of which can be obtained from Aline Brandon in the Brussels office or Ralph Weill in Basle.
At the end of October we are holding our next Young Peoples' leadership Forum. This year it is being held at a hotel in Rome. We hope to have some 200 participants between the ages of 22 and 35 enjoying a programme that incorporates talks by leading Rabbis,journalists,accademics and working group discussions. Our guest of honour is Arno Klarsfeld. The encouragement of younger people to accept leadership roles in Bnai Brith and also the wider community is an essential element in maintaining the strength, vibrancy and security of Jewish communities throughout Europe.
We continue to develop our Foreign Affairs Network (FAN) as the defence of our communities and the State of Israel is an ongoing and increasingly demanding duty. We are active in some 12 countries and are currently endeavouring to plan and co-ordinate activities so as to be more effective. Additional voluntary funding is needed for FAN as we employ a full time director (Yves Pallade). Anyone who wishes to participate in FAN activities should contact either Yves Pallade, our Vice President Yves Kamami or Aline Brandon in Brussels.
With Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur approaching, we should all be asking ourselves........what can I do to help our People, what have I to contribute to the common good and what can I do for Bnai Brith? We all share a common destiny and with this in mind ,I join with you in praying for a happy and peaceful New Year.
Graham Weinberg - President, B’nai B’rith Europe
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President's message 
