resilience and renewed purpose in challenging times

In January 2020, Debra Brunner, CEO of The Together Plan, travelled to Belarus to document and film the salvaged gravestones of the Brest-Litovsk Jewish cemetery. She had no idea it would be her last visit for the foreseeable future. Just two months later, the world was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to lockdowns and restricted travel, especially to Belarus. As the pandemic subsided, hopes of resuming travel were dashed when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, triggering sanctions and tightened borders.

Despite these challenges, The Together Plan adapted, ensuring that charity projects in Belarus continued, Holocaust education programs developed, family archive searches for global families persisted, and work on the Belarus Jewish Heritage Route progressed. During this time, Artur Livshyts, co-founder in Minsk, assembled a resilient team. Vasily Zaitsau and Sonya Shaipak joined, working in a small yet passionate office space. Collaborating virtually with Debra in the UK through Zoom and WhatsApp, the team pressed forward with training, networking, and project development.

A breakthrough came between 2022 and 2023 when the team in Minsk restored a wing of the Daumana Street Synagogue. This became The Together Plan’s Jewish Heritage Centre and new office. The centre, inaugurated in October 2023, allowed the team to host events, exhibitions, music performances, film clubs, community activities, and meetings. It was a pivotal achievement. Click here to see the heritage centre.

However, as momentum grew, the world’s attention shifted on October 7th due to the attack on Israel. This not only drew focus to the Middle East but impacted The Together Plan’s fundraising, as donors prioritized Israel’s urgent needs. It underscored the critical importance of The Together Plan’s mission: putting Jewish Belarus back on the global map as a vital part of the history of oppression, resilience, and survival of Jewish communities in Tsarist Russia, the Pale of Settlement, the Soviet Union, and beyond. This context is essential to understanding Zionism.

Faced with these challenges, the team knew they needed to strategize in person for the first time. In late October, Artur, Vasily, Sonya, and Lena— The Together Plan’s hugely valued volunteer filmmaker—embarked on a difficult journey by bus to meet Debra in Warsaw, Poland. Border crossings were arduous, marked by long queues, overcrowded buses, and strict regulations. The 12-hour crossing into Poland and 36-hour return journey tested their resolve. But the meeting was invaluable. When Debra met Sonya and Vasily in person for the first time, it was an emotional moment that strengthened their bond after three years of virtual collaboration.

While in Poland, the team visited Lublin to connect with fellow members of the European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage (AEPJ). This opportunity to see a European Jewish heritage site was transformative for Vasily and Sonya, shifting them from observers to active changemakers. They visited the Brama Grodzka NN Theatre Company’s powerful exhibition on Lublin’s Jewish community, the historic Hotel Ilan (formerly Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin), and the House of Words Museum, which highlights the role of the written word and Lublin’s printing history.

The long, tiring journey back to Belarus and Debra’s return to the UK were marked by a shared sense of growth and renewed determination. Their in-person gathering reinforced their mission to amplify Jewish Belarus’s stories and support its communities. The challenges ahead are formidable, but the team’s belief in collective strength endures: together, anything is possible.

Our mission is to build a Jewish heritage route through Belarus while supporting the communities of today.

Our task is a mighty one – and we can’t do it alone. But together – everything is possible.

we invite you to help us make it a reality!

For anyone with a connection to Belarus, Jewish or otherwise, this is an invitation to embark on a journey through time—one that honours the past while looking toward the future. Together, we can make history come alive once again.

We can’t do this alone and so we invite you to support this vision by becoming a regular donor.

You can set up a monthly, quarterly or  annual donation which will enable us to make this vision a reality. 

Please support our mission – click here to set up your donation subscription.

If you are in the USA you can set up your gift subscription via our US non-profit ‘Jewish Tapestry Project’ – click here.

The Together Plan is a member of the AEPJ (European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Heritage) which leads the network across Europe working on the European Route of Jewish Heritage, one of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.