The promotion of Yiddish-language activities is a deterrent to developing
an identification with Israel.51
If Yiddish is perceived as a viable language, it is more difficult
to persuade people that Hebrew language skills are important --
and participation in Hebrew classes, especially ulpans, attracts
people to Zionism and Israel. So estranged are some Jews from their
Jewish heritage that they are unable to understand the concept of
Israel as a Jewish homeland.
Mr. Wernik predicted that aliyah would remain stable
or increase slightly during the next two to three years. The rate
of departures for Israel depends on social conditions, including
the extent to which Jews are affected by Ukrainian nationalism,
and economic factors. An image of Israel as dangerous persists among
many Jews. Mr. Wernik believes that visits of Israeli artists to
the area would convince many local Jews that Israelis are cultured
and would improve the perception of Israel. Visits by selected soldiers
and officers would demonstrate that the Israeli army is different
from the armed forces of other countries.
Mr. Wernik is now traveling to Jewish population
centers in small towns in western Ukraine. Many of these Jews are
so beaten down that they do not have the strength to emigrate. The
high cost of gasoline as well as wear and tear on automobiles makes
this sort of outreach very expensive.
Observing that the caliber of local educational
institutions has declined since independence, Mr. Wernik said that
young people should be able to find attractive educational opportunities
in Israel. However, some are so assimilated that it may require
an outreach ‘investment’ of three or four year to persuade
them that Israel is a desirable destination.
78. The Sholom Aleichem
Society is a local secular Jewish organization that sponsors
various cultural programs and also teaches both Hebrew and Yiddish.
It operates its own welfare service, which is funded in part by
the Joint Distribution Committee. Several individuals commented
that it is engaged in a ‘power struggle’ with those
associated with Yad Yisroel endeavors, i.e., the synagogue, day
school, and welfare service operating from the day school. Individuals
connected with the latter institutions barely acknowledged the existence
of the Sholom Aleichem Society, except to complain that JDC supports
it and does not provide regular assistance to Yad Yisroel. The writer
did not meet with Sholom Aleichem Society officials.
79. Lutsk is the administrative center of Volyn
oblast, which is located in the northwest ‘corner’ of
Ukraine; it shares a western border with Poland and a northern border
with Belarus. The area was under Polish sovereignty for much of
recent history. The population of Lutsk is 214,000.
80. Jews have lived in Lutsk since the tenth century.
By 1939, the Jewish population of the city had reached about 20,000.
Almost all were killed during the Holocaust, including as many as
17,000 at Polanka hill just outside the city during a four-day period
in August 1942.
About 800 Jews are believed to live in Lutsk today.
Another 700 Jews live elsewhere in Volyn oblast.
81. Accompanied by Meylakh Sheykhet, the writer
visited Lutsk on a Sunday. A long holiday weekend had led to the
cancellation of Sunday school
classes, but 11 children and about 15 adults had gathered at the
customary site of Sunday school classes to meet their visitors.
Thirteen children and adolescents between the ages
of nine and 18 usually attend Sunday school instruction, which is
held in a spacious room in a local public library. The teacher,
who had completed a seminar in Jewish studies at the Steinsaltz
Yeshiva in Moscow, taught a “sample” class to the 11
youngsters of mixed ages then in attendance; the lesson included
a lecture on the approaching holiday of Shavuot and some very basic
Hebrew language skills. The teaching approach was formal and frontal,
and pupils entered notes in special notebooks. Learning materials
were scarce, consisting of five copies of a Hebrew textbook (supplied
by JDC), some maps and posters of Israel, and a portable chalkboard.
Some of the youngsters had visited Kiev, where they had met Rabbi
Bleich and participated in activities associated with Yad Yisroel.
82. After the lesson, Meylakh Sheykhet, who was
known to the community, spoke to the pupils and adults. He invited
the older youngsters to enroll at the Lvov Jewish school for the
following academic year, explaining that supervised dormitory accommodations
were available in the very same building as the school. He described
the school curriculum. He also noted the possibility of enrolling
in a Karliner-Stoliner school in Jerusalem that had been developed
especially for youth from the post-Soviet successor states. Finally,
he reminded those assembled about the Yad Yisroel summer camps,
i.e., a boys camp near Khmelnitsky and a girls camp near Kiev. Many
of the youngsters had already registered for these camps and were
clearly excited about their forthcoming summer adventures. Mr. Sheykhet
reminded the parents that all of these programs were provided free
of charge. |
83.
Having few opportunities to meet a Jew from abroad, several of the
adults present asked questions of the writer. All questions focused
on their own situation in Lutsk. They requested assistance in finding
and supporting suitable rental premises in which they could conduct
a Sunday school, operate a Jewish library, and coordinate their
welfare operations. They had written to Ukrainian President Leonid
Kuchma in an effort to reclaim one of the 30 buildings that they
said belonged to the Jewish community before World War II. They
received no response from him. When it was suggested that they contact
JDC for assistance in pursuing property restoration matters, they
complained bitterly that JDC had “abandoned” them. JDC
has sent them only the five Hebrew textbooks, some Russian-language
Jewish newspapers, a few “supplies” at Chanukah, and
one shipment of food parcels for distribution to local Jewish elderly.
Aware that JDC has sent Russian-language Judaic libraries to many
communities, they requested such a book collection for Lutsk. However,
JDC has not responded.52
84. Several adults spoke about
a Holocaust memorial monument that they had erected at a site of
mass murder, presumably at Polanka. Because this site now lies within
a heavily populated area, they would like to build a fence around
the monument, but they lack the $450 necessary for its construction.
85. In response to a question,
several people noted that the Jewish community welfare
service provides assistance to 26 to 30 elderly people, one
of whom is paralyzed and nearly all of whom are lonely. The nature
of this assistance was not clear.
86. The city of Rovno (Rivne),
which has a population of about 300,000, is the administrative center
of Rovno oblast. Rovno oblast lies between Volyn and Zhitomir oblasts.
The area was under Polish control until the First Partition of Poland
(1793) and between World War I and World War II.
87. About 28,000 Jews lived in
Rovno in 1939 when the Nazi-Soviet pact divided Poland and the Rovno
area was incorporated into Soviet Ukraine. Under Soviet control,
the once active Jewish organizational life ceased. However, the
Jewish population grew rapidly as Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied
western Poland crossed into Ukraine and sought shelter in border-area
cities. Rovno itself was occupied by German troops on June 29, 1941.
At least 25,500 Rovno Jews were killed in the Holocaust, 18,000
by machine gun at Sosenki, a pine grove, on a single day, November
6, 1941. Another 5,000 were murdered in Kostopol, and 2,000 were
slaughtered at Sosnovka. An extraordinary memorial to the lives
of all Jewish victims has been constructed at Sosenki.
Most Jews who survived the war
emigrated during the chaos of the immediate post-war period, and
the community dissolved. Between 800 and 1,000 Jews currently live
in Rovno city and another 500 live elsewhere in the oblast. Additionally,
about 1,000 people from half-Jewish families live in the city and
500 more live in the oblast. About 80 percent of the entire Jewish
population has roots outside the area.
88. Meylakh Sheykhet and I met
with a leadership group of three local Jews at the two-storey Jewish
communal building in Rovno. Until the Soviet occupation of 1939,
the building had been one of four synagogues within several blocks
on the same street. After the war, a trade union used it as a library.
In 1989, the building was returned to the community. The main hall
on the upper floor is used as a synagogue; rooms on the lower floor
are used for various communal purposes. The building requires renovation,
which the community cannot afford, and heating is very expensive
in the winter. |

51. Mr.
Wernik may have been referring to the local Sholom Aleichem Society
(see #78 in main text) or to some individuals associated with the
synagogue.
52. Lacking
their own premises, the assembled Jews might find it very difficult
to organize a functional library. In later private correspondence
with the writer, JDC acknowledged insufficient attention to western
Ukraine, citing budgetary constraints. JDC organized a property
reclamation seminar in nearby Lvov in June 1996, i.e., the month
following my visit to Lutsk.
|