Jewish Life

[Guest]

Jewish Life

 

 

During the last few years, there has been somewhat of a rebirth of Jewish life in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Jewish population has established about 250 organizations in

more than 80 cities. There are several umbrella Jewish organizations: the Association of Jewish Communities and Organizations of Ukraine (Vaad), the Jewish Council

of Ukraine, the Union of Jewish Religious Communities of Ukraine under the Karlin-Stolin movement, and the Chabad Lubavitch movement, among others. There are

also scores of organized religious and cultural events, 14 day schools, 10 Yeshivot, and 70 Hebrew and Sunday Schools. Israel has an embassy in Kiev and several

Israeli youth movements sponsor camps and activities. Twenty synagogue buildings have been returned to the Jewish community under government legislation ensuring

the return of all confiscated religious property, though hundreds more still need to be reclaimed. In Kiev, where the Jewish community is estimated at 100,000, there are

three congregations, three Jewish newspapers, and two professional Jewish theater companies. The International Solomon University, the first Jewish university in

Ukraine, opened in Kiev in the fall of 1993, and Hebrew studies departments have been established at the Universities of Kiev and Odessa. The Lviv State University

has Judaica faculty in its history department. There are also large and active Jewish communities in Kharkiv, Odessa and Dnepropetrovsk -where there is a National

Jewish University- and smaller communities throughout the region. Despite their rising vitality, Ukrainian Jewish communities face a lack of resources, including extreme

food shortages for the elderly and the middle-aged unemployed in some areas. UCSJ supports Jewish communities in over 15 Ukrainian towns through its Yad L'Yad

(Hand to Hand) partnership program. Another problem affecting the Jewish community in Ukraine is a series of festivals being held by Messianic Jews-groups like Jews

for Jesus-which aim to convert participants to accept Jesus as the Messiah. Such events, which have been held in Kharkiv and in Odessa, may be taking advantage of

FSU Jews' lack of knowledge about Judaism. According to Boris Dobrivker, formerly of Odessa, approximately 35,000 people in Odessa attended an August 1995 Jews

for Jesus "Christianity Festival of Jewish Music." Invitati- ons were mailed to two groups of the Survivors of the Ukrainian Ghetto, but the invitations had no indication

the event was sponsored by Jews for Jesus.

 

Antisemitism in Ukraine

 

 

Antisemitic incidents continue to occur, despite expanded opportunities for Jews to pursue their religious and cultural activities. The Ukrainian government has worked to

improve relations with Jewish communities and to condemn openly anti-Je- wish rhetoric.

Jews have risen to prominent, visible positions, such as the mayors of Odessa and Vinnitsa. Jews are blamed for the economic disorder and for the problems associated with the post-Soviet transformation, as well as for their alleged role

in the great famine of the twenties and for the troops sent by Moscow in the 1930s to subdue Ukrainian resistance. Antisemitic incidents in

different areas in Ukraine include death threats against Jews in Kharkiv and a number of cemetery desecrations. The demolition or reuse of Jewish cemeteries has also

been a problem in the past year, and Ukrainian officials have responded with varying degrees of concern and expeditiousness in instances of Jewish cemetery land

which was destroyed by the Nazis or appropriated for other uses by the Soviets since World War II. The Jewish cemetaries are not even mentioned in any official land

documents.

[Guest]

IM not Jewish and dont care about the Jews!!! This is an Armenian site! What do the Jews have to do with it?

[Guest]

jisht es 100%

[Guest]

Thanks for that reply JanFedayi!Keep up the good work!