The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities has been awarded £100,000 by the Scottish Government to develop an ambitious three-year programme of projects both within the Jewish Community and to promote good community relations in Scotland. The main strands are:

• the continued publication of MEMO, a weekly digest of information of relevance to ethnic minority communities, which for the last three years has been published jointly with BEMIS, the ethnic minority umbrella organisation;
• the extension and development of the Outreach project aimed at contacting and involving isolated Jewish individuals in rural Scotland;
• supporting the dissemination of the positive messages of the recent very successful Scottish Interfaith Pilgrimage, and the development of future such activities;
• the dissemination of information about Judaism to Scottish schools through the development of a Scottish version of the Jewish Way of Life Exhibition.

Director Ephraim Borowski said: "This excellent result underlines the commitment of the new Scottish Government to continuing the "One Scotland - Many Cultures" project, and shows the trust that SCoJeC has earned by consistently delivering on its undertakings."

SCoJeC Chair, Walter Sneader, welcomed the award from the Race, Religion, and Refugee Integration Fund, noting that "SCoJeC has built up a remarkable working relationship with the Scottish Parliament and Government that is the envy of many other communities around the world."

The grant is already supporting the continued publication of MEMO, and the extension of the Outreach programme, which was also supported by the Clore Foundation, and the Council will now develop a work plan for the development of the other strands.