President Shevardnadze awards JDC the Georgian Order of Honor

Tblisi, Georgia - In what is being called an "enormous honor" to Georgian Jewry, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has bestowed his government's highest civilian award - the Order of Honor - to JDC Country Director in Georgia, Stanley Abramovitch and to JDC's Caucasus Regional Representative Meir Zizov.

Abramovitch, who began working in Georgia for JDC before the breakup of the Soviet Union commented, "This award has been building up for 26 centuries and 24 hours. By 26 centuries, I am alluding to President Shevardnadze's speech, wherein he recognized 2600 years of peaceful coexistence and Jewish presence in Georgia. And by 24 hours, I mean that I was given a day's notice for the ceremony."

Abramovitch says the award is really a nod to Georgia's Jewish community, which numbers nearly 12,000 people. "There's no doubt that the Jews of Georgia are recognized by their government as a valued community within the country. This is an area where the synagogues were kept open during Soviet repression, Abramovitch noted. "Two of the big synagogues, the 'Georgian Synagogue' and the 'Ashkenazi Synagogue' never closed."

President Shevardnadze recognized the joint efforts by JDC and the Jewish community and their "fruitful charity activity for citizens of Georgia." Mr. Shevardnadze also cited Abramovitch's "major personal contribution to the creation and functioning of the Jewish Charity Center, and effective running of welfare, cultural and education programs" in Georgia. He gave equal recognition to Meir Zizov for his "further development of the centuries-old relations between the Georgian and Jewish people."

JDC began providing assistance to Georgian Jews in 1988 before the fall of the Soviet Union. Initially bringing in Jewish books and religious articles into Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, JDC went on to provide training and funding to help the Jewish community of Tbilisi begin rebuilding its communal infrastructure. As JDC learned of the desperate poverty plaguing elderly Jews, a food package program was begun. Today, JDC supports Jewish communities in six Georgian cities: Batumi, Gori, Kutaisi, Oni, Rustavi and Tbilisi. Where monthly pensions for the elderly averaging around $5 per month, JDC assists more than 2,500 elderly Georgian Jews with more than 25,000 food packages a year, more than 100,000 hot meals, nearly 60,000 hours of homecare and over 1,000 winter relief packages. There is also a JCC, an active Hillel with more than 300 students who participate and a training institute for Jewish communal professionals.