COJECO is excited to launch its Adult B’nai Mitzvah Journey, a program for Russian-speaking Jewish adults in New York! This unique experience encourages and enables the participants to join meaningful Jewish learning, celebrate their Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and bring the joy of Jewish living to their families.
The program empowers RSJ change makers to create their own community-building initiatives, with the support of a network of peers, educational workshops, one-on-one mentorship, and mini-grants for project implementation.
A customized, year-long family program for Russian-speaking Jewish parents and their children leading up to Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
The Virtual Academy of Jewish Heritage offers a series of top-notch Jewish and Israel-related educational sessions in English and Russian. Learn more on how to attend these free virtual lectures and help support the academy!
We invite you to join COJECO and the Russian-speaking Jewish community of New York and New Jersey as we proudly march on NYC’s 5th Avenue in support of Israel. We welcome all RSJ community organizations and individuals to join and march together as one strong community.
Bringing Russian-speaking Jewish young adults on a 9-day educational trips to Germany to explore the past and present of Jewish life in Germany, and to experience modern Germany first hand.
We have launched a successful program for adults, children, teens, and families in Northern New Jersey, in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.
As the war in Ukraine rages on, our community is welcoming more refugees from Ukraine every day. COJECO has been working tirelessly to help people impacted by the War in Ukraine to resettle in New York and New Jersey. Read more about our efforts and Join!
Join COJECO in celebrating its annual gala honoring the RSJ Community. Stay tuned for details about the 2025 annual gala!
Tue, April 29, 2025
Wed, May 7, 2025
Tue, May 13, 2025
Fri, May 30, 2025 – Sun, June 1, 2025
“Spoils of War: Ode to a Refusenik Mother” was originally published by Tablet Magazine on June 6, 2012 (bit.ly/spoilspoem), and the panels illustrating the poem were exhibited at New York City’s National Arts Club through the Russian American Foundation’s Russian Heritage Month. The poem is accompanied by a spoken word track over a mix tape in collaboration with Los Angeles musician Sam Barsh.
At NYC’s KGB Bar December 26, 2012 for the release of Spoils of War, the book, Korol performed the poem over the instrumental track. At Brooklyn’s Time Out New York-picked Best Reading Series at Franklin Park Bar on February 11, 2013, Margarita performed the poem along with the video.
As part of the 11th Annual Russian Heritage Month, Margarita was invited back to Manhattan for another exhibition of Spoils of War with multimedia elements, including the original posters and the looping video above. For the occassion, Margarita also painted six new paintings titled, “Heroes of the Refusenik Movement” featuring the Russian American Foundation’s Marina Kovalyov, President Ronald Reagan, and activists Susan Green, Malcolm X, and Natan Scharansky.
Successfully meeting the Urban Pop Art Project’s goal of updating the refusenik experience in multimedia formats that would reach the widest variety of demographics, Margarita was presented with a Citation from Representative Helen Weinstein on behalf of the State of New York for the worth of her work as an Artist, Graphic Designer, and Writer to the State.
Margarita Korol Spoils of War: Ode to a Refusenik Mother Margarita Korol is an urban pop artist, designer, and writer in New York City producing media in the publishing and public worlds including art directing, editing, and illustrating for several online and print magazines. Her writing, illustrations, paintings, and arts and culture propaganda are vibrant expressions of urban progress in directed contexts. Born the week of Chernobyl in Ukraine to refuseniks, Korol’s focus on empowering individuals in disadvantaged struggles against their political systems is an ongoing theme in her work. Her most recent exhibit for Brooklyn’s ArtOnBrighton exhibition on the Coney Island/ Brighton Beach boardwalk featured a series of propaganda posters directed to the area’s SovJew immigrant community in Korol’s generation. Previously, Propaglasnost: The Transparency Projects series was on view at NYC’s KGB Bar May and June 2011. Meanwhile, her Berlin Wall installation Die Mauer is housed at Chicago’s DANK-Haus German Cultural Center.
COJECO was formed in 2001 as an umbrella organization for grassroots community organizations of Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants in New York to make their voices heard and respected. Today we represent over 30 such network organizations, including young adult leadership groups, Holocaust Survivors, professional associations, arts & culture organizations, and social justice groups.
COJECO was formed in 2001 as an umbrella organization for grassroots community organizations of Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants in New York to make their voices heard and respected. Today we represent over 30 such network organizations, including young adult leadership groups, Holocaust Survivors, professional associations, arts & culture organizations, and social justice groups.
Tel: 212-566-2120 E-mail: info@cojeco.org
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