Moldova. The "Hesed Hana" has recently opened in Tiraspol. It occupies a small but cosy two - storeyed mansion in the very center of the city. The Hesed personnel with Anna Kondrachenko as a director distribute food and clothes' parcels; serve lunches at the canteen and at homes of those unable to move. The personnel provide medical service and care for bed-patients.

The Hesed tries to give people not only material but spiritual food as well. This includes joint celebrations of the Sabbath, concerts of the Jewish music performed by amateur and professional actors, hobby groups.

Russia. The Yamal-Nenets Jewish community, founded in Nadim in October 2001, has received an official status. The Nadim businessman, deputy of the district Duma Bentsion Rahamimov has been elected its chairman.

The number of the organization members is a little over 20 people. The community sees its aim in reviving and propagandizing cultural, language and religions traditions of the Jewish people.

Georgia. The grandson of Joseph Stalin, a 63-year old resident of Tbilisi Yevgeny Dzugashvili, has appealed to the court against the pronouncements of the leader of the "Stalinist" international society Grigory Oniani. The latter asserts that Yevgeny Dzugashvili is not Stalin's descendant and his real name is Rabinovich. According to Oniani, Dzugashvili " was sent by Zionists to Stalin's family and has never been what he pretends to be".

Russia. A group of the State Duma deputies has prepared a draft appeal to the President of Russia with the request to grant political asylum to the leader of the Palestine Autonomy Yasser Arafat. This information came from the deputy Alexei Mitrofanov (the LDPR faction) who is one of the authors of the draft appeal. The State Duma's deputies from the CPRF faction Vassily Shandybin and Pavel Burdukov are among other authors of the document.

The draft denounces "any violence leading to deaths of the peaceful population irrespective of who is behind it".

Russia. The Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has met with the President of the Russian Jewish Congress Yevgeny Satanovsky and Chief Rabbi of Russia (CJOCR) Adolf Shayevich. They discussed the questions of long-term cooperation between the Government of Moscow and RJC, the role of the Moscow municipality in the infrastructure of the developing city Jewish community, creation of the climate of national, ethnic and religious tolerance in the capital. The example of successful cooperation between the RJC and Moscow Government is the creation of a memorial to the Jews-victims of the Holocaust on the Poklonnaya Mountain.