Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City has a long-lasting partnership with the Jewish communities in Romania and Bulgaria through its relationship with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).
Last month, two representatives from the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria (Shalom), Maxim Delchev and Dr. Alina Levi, visited Kansas City to meet with and learn from local leaders.
Delchev is the executive director of Shalom and the president of the religious Jewish community in Bulgaria. Dr. Levi recently was elected as the chairwoman of Shalom in March of 2025 and works as an ophthalmologist and an assistant professor at the Medical University in Sofia, Bulgaria. Both grew up in the Bulgarian Jewish community, participating in youth programs, camp and Jewish leadership opportunities. Dr. Levi is also the creator of the Gan Balagan kindergarten and the Ronald S. Lauder School, both of which receive allocations from Jewish Federation.
Delchev and Dr. Levi met with community leaders and organizations during their visit. One such meeting was with Zohar Flacks and Annie Glickman of Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA) so both parties could learn about their respective approaches to Jewish education.
“The work that’s happening in Bulgaria is truly inspirational,” said Taly Friedman, Federation’s director of community building. “Their Jewish day school opened just six years ago and already has over 200 students. I’m excited to see what they’ll do next.”
Delchev and Dr. Levi were also impressed by HBHA’s dual-track program and the school’s pluralistic approach to Jewish community building.
While the two communities are an ocean apart, both share similar challenges and accomplishments. Both communities see a need for engaging young people as the pathway to a strong Jewish future. Shalom operates a 12-day overnight summer camp that reaches capacity merely days after enrollment opens. Similarly, The J KC operates several day camp opportunities throughout the summer, each of which fill up quickly after opening. Additionally, the first international chapter of B’nai Brith Youth Organization (BBYO) opened in Bulgaria in 1936, only 12 years after BBYO’s second oldest chapter started in Kansas City.
“Visits like this one show that our communities’ relationship is about more than funding Jewish programs around the world,” Federation Community Planning Specialist Sierra Debrow said. “We have so much to learn from one another.”
Federation hopes to continue to deepen its relationship with the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria, such as exploring the possibility of Bulgarian teens being a part of Maccabi Games in Kansas City next summer. Federation also looks forward to collaborating with JDC to deepen its connection to its other partner community in Romania.
Members of Federation’s Israel and Overseas Committee, board and staff met with Dr. Alina Levi and Maxim Delchev. Pictured are (front row, from left) Mollie Berenbom, Sierra Debrow, Taly Friedman, Michelle Goldsmith, Dr. Alina Levi, Maxim Delchev, Sondra Freidman, Beth Liss, Becca Graham, Debbie Granoff, Patricia Uhlmann, (back row) Dori Jezmir, Victor Wishna, Barry Kaseff, Brenda Rosenthal and Derek Gale.
Eva and Dr. Jason Sokol hosted Jewish medical professionals Dr. Alina Levi and Maxim Delchev to learn about the Bulgaria and Kansas City partnership and the work Dr. Alina Levi does in the field of ophthalmology. Pictured are (from left) Eva Sokol, Dr. Alina Levi, Dr. Jason Sokol and Maxim Delchev.