LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending RAJE, the Russian American Jewish
Experience, upon the occasion of its Second Annual Banquet on February
9, 2010, and honoring Sofa Landver, Member of the Knesset and Israel's
Minister of Immigrant Absorption who will present the Keynote Address at
the Dinner

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
commend organizations of high purpose and worthy accomplishment whose
endeavors have a significant impact on the lives of those they serve;
and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern and fully in accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend
RAJE (Russian American Jewish Experience) of the Russian Division of
Gateways, upon the occasion of its Second Annual Banquet, to be held at
Sotheby's on February 9, 2010, and to honor Sofa Landver, Member of the
Knesset and Israel's Minister of Immigrant Absorption; and
WHEREAS, Since 1998, the Gateways Organization has dedicated itself to
education in values and ethical living, and to reconnecting people with
their Jewish heritage; and
WHEREAS, Nearly a million Jews from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) have
made their home in America, including thousands upon thousands in New
York City and New York State, and given the opportunities of our great
nation, many have flourished; and
WHEREAS, Yet the seeds of spiritual and communal destruction implanted
by the Soviet regime helped create a crisis of Jewish and communal iden-
tity which, if left unabated, could jeopardize the survival of this
important Russian American community; and
WHEREAS, To address this monumental challenge, the RAJE Leadership
Fellowship was created to train and inspire a new generation of communi-
ty leaders; and
WHEREAS, Sofa Landver, Member of the Knesset and Israel's Minister of
Immigrant Absorption will present the Keynote Address at the dinner; and
WHEREAS, Sofa Landver was born 1949 in Leningrad, Russia and immi-
grated to Israel in 1979; a speech therapist by profession, she holds an
M.A.degree; and
WHEREAS, She has served as Chairperson of the National Association of
Russian Immigrants, Member of the Ashdod City Council, Director of the
Ashdod Development Company, and Member of the Board of Trustees of the
Jewish Agency; and
WHEREAS, Sofa Landver has been a Member of Knesset since 1996, serving
on many Knesset Committees, including the Immigration and Absorption,
Labor and Welfare, Finance, Education and Culture, Constitution, Law and
Justice, Internal Affairs and Environment, and the Advancement of the
Status of Women Committees; she also served as Chairperson of the Isra-
el-Kazhachstan Parliamentary Friendship League and on the Committee for
Public Petitions; and
WHEREAS, Sofa Landver served as Deputy Minister of Transportation from
March 2001 until October 2002; in March 2003 she was appointed Minister
of Immigration Absorption and is currently serving ably in that capaci-
ty; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend RAJE for its
purposeful endeavors and commitment to the preservation and enhancement
of the rich religious, ethnic, and cultural heritage of the Russian
American Jewish community which has become such a valued and integral
part of the community of the City and State of New York; now, therefore,
be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend RAJE upon the occasion of its Second Annual Banquet on February
9, 2010, and to honor MK Sofa Landver; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to RAJE and to MK Sofa Landver.