Amid economic ruin, political unrest and high crime rates, Georgian Jews resolutely continue to build a communal structure to care for their impoverished elderly and to foster Jewish culture and traditions.

JDC began providing assistance to Georgian Jews in 1988. Initially, our work focused on Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Bringing in Jewish books and religious articles, we also provided training and funding to help the Jewish community of Tbilisi begin to rebuild its communal infrastructure. As we learned of elderly Jews’ desperate poverty, we began to supply relief packages. Today, we are supporting Jewish communities in six cities: Batumi, Gori, Kutasi, Oni, Rustavi and Tbilisi, as well as meeting the needs of individual Jews in more than dozen other locales.

2005