BEYOND BORAT: A Photographic Experience Through Jewish Kazakhstan

In July 2008, 19 Tufts students traveled to Almaty, Kazakhstan, on a 10-day Alternative Summer Break trip coordinated by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and Tufts Hillel. The program was designed to emphasize the connection between Jewish values and social responsibilities. It marked the first time a large group had ever visited the Jewish community of Kazakhstan.

During the group's time in Kazakhstan, trip participants volunteered in the homes of poor, elderly Jews, toured in and around Almaty, and formed lasting relationships with Kazakhstani Jewish students. They also learned about the plight of Jews—both old and young—in the former Soviet Union, and pledged to bring their experiences back to Tufts.

JDC operates as the overseas arm of the American Jewish community, helping serve the needs of Jews around the world. In the former Soviet Union, it focuses particularly on programs of relief and renewal. It provides food, clothing and medicine to some 250,000 elderly Jews across the region—including in Kazakhstan, where it runs a system of special Hesed welfare centers. In addition, since the fall of the Soviet Union, JDC has been helping Jewish communities rediscover their heritage and rebuild a vibrant Jewish communal life.

~Ben Gittleson

Special thanks to gallery curator Britt Sloan and the rest of the Kazakhstan Shabbat planning team—Jessie Schiller and Ethan Prosnit, and to Ed Merrin for sponsoring the trip. For more information about our trip please visit our blog at www.jdcrockskazakhstan.blogspot.com.

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