YIVO Welcomes New Board Member Amb. Eric Rubin

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is delighted to announce the addition of Ambassador Eric Rubin to its Board of Directors.

Amb. Rubin grew up in Brooklyn and New Rochelle, New York, and attended the Sholem Aleichem Folkshule school in Yonkers, where he learned Yiddish. He was raised in a home that highly valued secular Jewish culture.

A Yale graduate and career diplomat with over 38 years of experience, Amb. Rubin served in the USSR, the Russian Federation, Eastern and Central Europe, focusing on issues related to the breakup of the Soviet Union, the independence of the former Soviet republics and the restoration of the independence of the Baltic States. During this period, he also worked on refugee issues, human rights and helping free the Jews of the USSR.

Amb. Rubin speaks six languages (French, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Thai) and still understands a lot of Yiddish.

“Joining the YIVO board is a thrilling honor for me,” said Amb. Rubin. “I am devoted to supporting the preservation and survival of Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Central and Eastern Europe and to the survival and flourishing of the Yiddish language.”

From 2016-2019, Amb. Rubin served as U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria. While in Bulgaria, Amb. Rubin took part in efforts to save the crumbling grand synagogue in the Danube port city of Vidin—a predominantly Ashkenazi synagogue in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Amb. Rubin also served as Deputy Political Counselor in Kiev, Ukraine, in the early 1990s and was a recipient of AFSA’s William R. Rivkin Award for his work on the Bosnia crisis. While in Kiev he collaborated closely with Jewish leaders to help reestablish Jewish life in Ukraine and helped to support a new memorial at Babyn Yar.

Amb. Rubin was posted to Chiang Mai Thailand as Consul General in 2001 and, from 2008 to 2011, served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow. He currently serves as the President of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA). View Amb. Rubin’s full CV.

During all his posts abroad, Amb. Rubin worked together with local NGOs and relevant organizations to support the local Jewish communities.

Ruth Levine, chair of the YIVO Board, said “We are thrilled to welcome Amb. Rubin to the YIVO Board. Amb. Rubin brings a unique set of outstanding skills that will enable YIVO to continue to thrive and flourish. The appointment of Board members like Amb. Rubin gives us the ability to fulfill our mission in the best possible way.”

Amb. Rubin is married with two children.

For any media inquiries please contact:
Shelly Freeman
Chief of Staff

YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story