Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor

Kantor was born and spent his early years in Moscow, and obtained a degree from the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) in 1976 and did research for MAI and NPO Spektr. In 1981, he completed his PhD in Spacecraft Automatic Control Systems.

Kantor heads the publicly traded Acron Group, one of the leading mineral fertilizer producers and distributors in the world. Today, Acron is a large group of companies producing over 40 chemical products with annual output exceeding 8 million tonnes.[8]

In 1989–1993 Kantor was Director General of the joint venture Intelmas (intellectual materials and systems). Under his leadership, one of the first computer networks was introduced and installed in Russia, including at branches of the Academy of Sciences.

In 1996–2000 he was an economic adviser to the Chairman of the Federation Council of the RF Federal Assembly.

In 1997, Viatcheslav Kantor was named Honorary Citizen of Veliky Novgorod for his major contribution to development and strengthening of economy, science and cultural heritage of the old city of Novgorod, and improvement of social and living conditions for its residents.[9]

Since 2000 Kantor has served as President of the National Institute of Corporate Reform (NICR), a non-profit organization uniting top political leaders, business leaders and scholars. The NICR focuses on improving the investment climate in Russia and enhancing the global image of Russian companies.

Kantor is married to Anna Kantor and has four sons and a daughter.

Kantor has been the president of the European Jewish Congress (EJC) since 2007, having been re-elected to the position in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020.[13] The EJC, the largest secular organization representing the interests of European Jewry, is an influential, international public association representing 2.5 million Jews across the European continent in 42 national Jewish communities.

The key tasks undertaken and resolved by the EJC today include supporting and developing Jewish life in Europe and fostering Jewish unity, fighting antisemitism, preserving the memory of the Holocaust, reinforcing the national identity of the Jewish people, monitoring legislation, promoting reconciliation, preserving the traditions of European Jewry, particularly among young people and enhancing inter-religious dialogue.[14]

In 2010 he established the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University.[15]

In 2021 he was reelected Chairman of the Policy Council of the World Jewish Congress for the third time[16][17][18]

In 2019, Yad Vashem nominated Moshe Kantor as Chancellor of the Council, and before it he served as its Member of Directorate since 2010.[19]

Kantor is a Vice President of the Jewish Leadership Council.[20]

Kantor also served as President of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC) in 2005–2009.

Kantor is particularly involved in Holocaust education. To preserve historical memory of nations all over the world and preventing future tragedies, he founded and headed the World Holocaust Forum (WHF) in 2005 and the European Jewish Fund in 2006.

As Chair of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation Kantor initiated and organized the commemoration events in Krakow, on January 27, 2005, to mark 60 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The "Let My People Live!" World Forum was attended by more than 40 heads of states and official delegations, including President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Vice President of the United States of America Richard Cheney, President of the Republic of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski and other distinguished guests.

Since then, the Forum has acquired great support from the European Union institutions and Heads of State as well as high-ranking politicians and distinguished personalities. It has become a tradition to organise the Forum on historical dates and sites related to the Holocaust.

In 2013, the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz declared International Holocaust Remembrance Day an official annual event for the European Parliament starting in 2013.

On January 26–27, 2015, the Fourth International "Let My People Live!" Forum was held in Prague and Terezín (Czech Republic) to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, in collaboration with the President of the Czech Republic and the President of the European Parliament. The event was attended by several hundred distinguished guests, including heads of state, political leaders, members of parliament, diplomats, scholars and public figures from many countries, Auschwitz-Birkenau liberators, former prisoners of the concentration camps and Holocaust survivors.

The fifth World Holocaust Forum was held on January 23, 2020 at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, under the title “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism.” The forum was attended by almost 50 high-level delegations, including President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Vice President of the United States Mike Pence, President of France Emmanuel Macron, President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, King of The Netherlands Willem-Alexander, his Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and others.[21]

The event coincided with the 75th anniversary of the liberation the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp by the Red Army and International Holocaust Remembrance Day.[22][23]

The organizer and initiator of the Forum was Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor, in cooperation with Yad Vashem, under the auspices of the President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin.[24]

Moshe Kantor is also the founder of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR).

Kantor is actively engaged in promoting interfaith dialogue, tolerance and reconciliation in Europe. In 2008, he established the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), which he co-chaired from 2008 until 2014 with the President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski. Today Kantor serves as the President of the ECTR, while ex-Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair is the chairman since 2015.[25] The ECTR is a non-governmental organization composed of former heads of European states, distinguished representatives of the civic society and other world-renowned individuals for their achievements in promoting tolerance. The ECTR was established to promote tolerance and fight against racism and xenophobia, to monitor European countries’ adherence to principles of democracy and tolerance and to develop practical initiatives aimed at promoting mutual understanding and reconciliation between peoples and cultures.

In 2018 the ECTR has announced the establishment of the Kantor Prize for Secure Tolerance and ECTR Research Grants. The aim of the Grant programme is to foster new thinking on these and related issues by developing and applying the concept of a more secure form of tolerance. ECTR Grants may be held for up to 1 year. The maximum grant is 50,000 Euro.[26]

Dr Kantor has formulated and developed the notion of Secure Tolerance to highlight the need to reimagine the theory and practice of tolerance to meet the new challenges of a globalised world and the highly diverse and fragmented societies it contains.

In light of his perception of rising antisemitism worldwide, in 2010, Viatcheslav Kantor created of the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry in Tel Aviv University and the Moshe Kantor database for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism.[27]

The Kantor Center publishes annually the ‘Antisemitism Worldwide Report’ recognised internationally and used by European Union institutions and international organisations as one of the main sources of information and reliable research on the trends, sources and manifestations of antisemitism in the world.

In 2007, Kantor founded and was elected president of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, an international non-governmental organisation uniting leading world-renowned experts on nuclear non-proliferation, materials and delivery vehicles. The Forum was established pursuant to a decision of the International Conference held in Luxembourg on May 24–25, 2007. The conference was attended by over 50 renowned experts from 14 countries, including Sergey Kirienko, Director General of the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Nikolay Laverov, Academician and Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), William Perry, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense, and Hans Blix, Chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission and former Director General of the IAEA.

The Luxembourg Forum's activities are aimed at discussing nuclear security and non-proliferation issues, as well as elaborating proposals and recommendations to political leaders and diplomats regarding the reinforcement of nuclear security and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as well as fight against catastrophic nuclear terrorism. It works to prevent trivialization of the nuclear threat in the modern world and aims to provide trustworthy information on the current situation in states and regions of concern (the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula and South Asia).[28]

In 2012, Moshe Kantor launched the SACC programme, which deals with the security and crisis management of European Jewish communities. Due to the aggravation of the threat, the programme expanded into a new entity "SACC by EJC" which opened its headquarters in Vienna in 2016.

The Security and Crisis Centre by the EJC (SACC by EJC) is now based in Brussels, Belgium. The SACC trains and prepares Jewish communities to handle crisis and security management by coordinating all the various arms of the community – leadership, security, medical and psychological in crisis management teams. The SACC helps Jewish communities establish a crisis management team, support in training of team members, as well as regular follow-ups to make sure that the community is prepared to handle any situation – whether it is a terror attack, natural disaster, or any other crisis.[29] The President of SACC is Moshe Kantor.

Kantor is a trustee and Life President of the Anna Freud Centre (London, UK).[30][31] He is actively supporting the organization in its groundbreaking work for children, young people and their families who are experiencing mental health issues. Kantor has helped to build the new "Kantor Centre of Excellence"[32] in London's King's Cross as an extension of the Anna Freud Centre. At the heart of the project is a school for 48 children with emotional problems who have been excluded from mainstream education and require specialist support.

Kantor is patron of Kantor King Solomon High School (London, UK).[33] Kantor is actively supporting the development of the school which is a Jewish Comprehensive school based in Redbridge.[34]

Kantor is a member of the Board of Honorary Directors of Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation.[35] Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in London. Kantor has been a benefactor of the Royal Opera House since 2013, in which capacity he has facilitated various projects.

Kantor has been appointed Life Governor and Trustee of the King Edward VII Hospital in London. The Kantor Charitable Foundation supported the redevelopment of the site adjacent to the hospital, Macintosh House (the Kantor Medical Centre), which provides specialist medical accommodation including consulting and examination rooms. The Centre provides care for everyone, in particular for veterans of the armed services.[36][37]

In 2013, after hearing of the fire at the Malovishersky psychoneurological nursing home in Novgorod region which killed 37 patients, Kantor launched an initiative to upgrade infrastructure and equipment at inpatient social institutions locally and across Russia. Kantor personally paid to rebuild the nursing home and a new residential center which opened its doors two years after the fire.[38]

In 2020, Kantor created a geriatric rehabilitation centre, the War Veterans Hospital, in Novgorod region. The project aims to help seniors maintain their health, energy levels, and social connections using state-of-the-art medical rehabilitation technologies.[39]

Kantor is also a Patron of the Community Security Trust (CST), Patron of Jewish Care, Patron of Jewish Leadership Council (UK), Sponsor of Royal National Institute of Blind People, etc.

Kantor is the key founder and chairman of the European Jewish Fund (EJF), which focuses on promoting Jewish life throughout Europe by supporting educational and leadership programmes to reinforce Jewish identity, culture and traditions, especially by re-connecting young people with their rich and vital Jewish heritage. It is a non-governmental organization whose main task is to develop the Jewish life in Europe, reinforce the national identity of European Jewry and implement charitable and educational programs aimed at developing Jewish life on the continent.

Over several years, Kantor has been a donor to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center and member of its Directorate. He is currently the Chancellor of the Yad Vashem Council (nominated in 2019).[40]

Kantor serves as the president of the Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery (MAGMA),[41] founded in 2001 in Moscow on Kantor's initiative. The Museum contains the world's largest and most important private collection of 20th Century Jewish avant-garde art. The Russian, Soviet, American and European art movement flourished from approximately 1890 until present time and included such artists as Valentin Serov, Marc Chagall, Chaïm Soutine and Léon Bakst.

In 2018, President of the Russian Academy of Arts and People's Artist of the URSS Zurab Tsereteli officially awarded Kantor as the President of MAGMA Museum with the robe and diploma of Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts.[42]

Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor has bought a violin mabe by famous Italian violin maker Riccardo Antoniazzi in 1912. The violin has been given as a First Prize of the 2nd International Violinists Vladimir Spivakov Contest. Its price was $140,000.[43]