Chairman of the Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky's speech to Limmud participants:

Many years ago, as we fought for freedom behind the Iron Curtain, we discovered that we had allies around the world, fellow Jews who worked long days and longer nights to secure our release. These Jews felt – and through their perseverance and tenacity proved – that we are one people.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, we Soviet Jews scattered far and wide, to Israel our homeland, to the United States , Germany and elsewhere. Today, a generation after that world-changing event, in communities spread across the globe, we are still one people who discover each day how strong and deep are the bonds that connect us.

For Russian-speaking Jews, this connection is especially rich and interesting. Despite the different cultures and countries in which we live, we all share a unique combination of identities: our ties to Israel , our Russian heritage, our Jewish roots and traditions, and the welcoming society in which we live.

This intersection of identities is a vivid and beautiful inheritance, a special story that is worth preserving.

At Limmud, you are the heroes who committed yourselves to preserving this special story. As volunteers, you have put together a gathering that is a celebration of learning and thinking about who we are and what we believe. We at the Jewish Agency promise to continue to support these efforts and to be your partner and ally in building this community, which has become one of the great Jewish experiences of the Russian-speaking world. I urge you to use this platform to question, learn about and deepen your ties to Jewish life and the Jewish world, and of course, to our eternal homeland Israel .

Yeshar Koach, may you go from strength to strength. Thank you.