LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending RAJE, the Russian American Jewish
Experience, upon the occasion of its Second Annual Banquet on February
9, 2010, and honoring Avigail Chazin

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 Avigail Chazin; 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, Avigail Chazin will be honored with a Young Leadership Award
at the dinner; and
WHEREAS, Avigail Chazin, a native of Kiev, Ukraine, grew up in a secu-
lar environment but in a family which was intensely proud of its Jewish
heritage and at the age of 13, she was enrolled in one of the first
Jewish Schools in Kiev; and
WHEREAS, After graduating high school, Avigail Chazin made Aliya to
Israel, where she pursued her passion for Jewish education, completing a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Jewish History and earning certification from
the Israeli Ministry of Education; and
WHEREAS, In her role as a "shlicha," an educational emissary of the
State of Israel, Avigail Chazin returned to Kiev to work as a Hebrew
teacher at the Orah Hayim school; she also supervised 18 Sunday schools
for the Jewish Agency's Hetzibah program and created countless innova-
tive programs for Jewish camps; and
WHEREAS, In 2005, Avigail Chazin immigrated with her four children to
America and served, initially, as the head Jewish educator for the Beth
Solomon network of Jewish after school programs; and
WHEREAS, In 2006, Avigail Chazin was recruited by RAJE as a full-time
Jewish educator and program coordinator; she continues to serve ably in
these capacities and it is widely recognized that her dedication,
creativity, love and compassion for all her students, have in no small
way contributed to RAJE's success; 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 Avigail Chazin, recipient of a Young Leadership
Award; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to RAJE and to Avigail Chazin.