This report is an account of travel to several Jewish population
centers in Ukraine during the last week in April and first two weeks
in May 1996.1
Areas visited include Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov in eastern
Ukraine, Kiev and Chernigov in central Ukraine, and a number of
smaller centers to the south and west of Kiev. The latter are Zhitomir,
Berdichev, Khmelnitsky, Ternopol, Lvov, Lutsk, and Rovno.2
Four general observations may be made. First, Ukrainians
and foreigners resident in Ukraine were watching with some trepidation
the then-forthcoming (June 16 and July 3) presidential elections
in Russia, their neighbor to the north and east. Of all the candidates,
the clear favorite was Boris Yeltsin, the incumbent and eventual
victor. Heard frequently was the adage, “When Russia sneezes,
Ukraine catches cold.” Concern was expressed regarding two
potential election outcomes: (1) that a victory by Gennady Zyuganov,
the Communist candidate, would encourage Communists in Ukraine to
act even more aggressively in thwarting both political and economic
reform; and (2) that success by either Zyuganov or Russian nationalist/fascist
Vladimir Zhirinovsky would threaten Ukrainian independence as both
favored “re-integration” of the former Soviet republics
into a Moscow-dominated single political entity. Jewish organizations,
which have been able to operate with considerable freedom in independent
Ukraine feared severe restrictions under newly-emboldened Communists
or renewed Russian authority.
Second, in the brief few years of Ukrainian sovereignty,
Ukrainians and others resident in Ukraine have developed a strong
sense of Ukrainian coherence and national integrity. Nowhere was
that Ukrainian sense of separateness more forcefully expressed than
in Ukrainian apprehension about the Russian elections. “Ukrainianization”
is apparent in other, more mundane expressions. Russian remains
the working language of the large cities, but street signs in urban
areas have been changed to Ukrainian, and urban schools are facing
political pressure to teach in Ukrainian rather than Russian. Despite
its dependence on Russian energy resources, the Ukrainian economy
is developing separately -- and less progressively -- from that
in Russia.
Third, whereas experienced observers of Soviet
and post-Soviet Jewry have always recognized significant differences
between Russian and Ukrainian Jews (as well as Jews in other contiguous
nationality areas), these variances are becoming more salient as
Ukrainian nationhood strengthens its own particularity. Historically,
Ukrainian Jewry is closer to its roots. The following developments
of the post-Soviet era should also be noted: (1) despite horrendously
brutal expressions of Ukrainian antisemitism in the past, the current
Ukrainian government is more accommodating to its Jewish population
than is the Russian state;3
(2) Ukrainian national Jewish institutions are much more effective
than those in Russia;4
(3) skilled rabbis are more numerous in Ukraine than in Russia;5
and (4) aliyah (emigration to Israel) has been greater in Ukraine
than in Russia, reflecting the economic crisis in Ukraine, the stronger
attachment of Ukrainian Jews to their Jewish heritage, and the impact
of rabbis and their programs in instilling a sense of Jewish and
Zionist identity in younger Jews. The combination of aliyah and
emigration to other countries is contributing to a notable decrease
(15 to 20 percent) in Jewish day school enrollment in several Ukrainian
cities.6
Fourth, although the Jewish population of Ukraine
remains concentrated in four large cities -- Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk,
Kharkov, and Odessa -- significant numbers of Jews continue to live
in population clusters of several hundred to 10,000 in smaller urban
areas. Many such smaller Jewish populations are located in the 10
oblasts west of Kiev, i.e., a large portion of the former Pale Settlement.
The majority of Jews in this area are elderly, many of them frail
and impoverished. A significant number of younger Jews still residing
in these oblasts may face a similar future as small-town lassitude
and general inertia seem to define their lives. In a general sense,
the area is poorly served by international Jewish organizations,
which find the remoteness of such small population concentrations
daunting. Problems of logistics are reinforced by problems of institutional
policy, such as a regionalization policy in the Joint Distribution
Committee that overlooks territorial political and economic coherence
and a adolescent aliyah program (Na’aleh 16) sponsored by
the Jewish Agency and Israeli government that emphasizes prior academic
experience difficult to obtain in smaller cities and towns. |
Observations
about specific Ukrainian Jewish population centers follow.
1. Rabbi
Shmuel Kaminezki remains the central figure in the Dnepropetrovsk
(Dnipropetrovsk) Jewish population. No rabbi in the post-Soviet
successor states has established and has continued to support as
many communal institutions as he. These include: an active synagogue
and mikva, a 700-pupil day school, a yeshiva high school enrolling
about 50 boys, a cheder enrolling about 10 boys, four preschools
enrolling a total of 135 children, a youth club, a summer camp enrolling
150 youngsters in each of two sessions, a michlala enrolling about
80 young women, a Jewish educational program attracting about 50
Jewish students at local universities and colleges, a Jewish “public
university” enrolling approximately 120 adults, a weekly television
program, a kosher slaughtering service, and a soup kitchen that
serves about 80 elderly Jews daily. Rabbi Kaminezki also distributes
a Jewish monthly magazine that, although published in Moscow, reserves
the inside cover pages for matters of specific Dnepropetrovsk concern.
Under his influence, a local
businessman has opened a high-quality kosher restaurant that attracts
both Jews and non-Jews. Rabbi Kaminezki enjoys excellent relations
with other Jewish institutions in the city, especially the Jewish
Agency for Israel (Sochnut) and the local Jewish community council
(Yevreisky soviet).
Rabbi Kaminezki is one of a number
of Chabad rabbis in the successor states who receives significant
support from Or Avner, an organization
established by Levi Levayev
a Tashkent-born Israeli businessman, in memory of his father. Or
Avner currently funds the michlala and approximately 50 percent
of the cost of other Chabad activities in the city. Almost alone
among rabbis in post-Soviet Jewish population centers, Rabbi Kaminezki
has been successful in fundraising among local Jewish businessmen.8 He
also seeks assistance from Jews in several foreign countries. Notwithstanding
the above, financial constraints are a day-to-day reality.
2. The Jewish
day school is unusual in the successor states in the size
of its enrollment, its campus-like premises, and the warmth of its
atmosphere.9
Three factors should be noted as changes since a previous visit
almost exactly one year ago.
a. Increasing attention is being
devoted to upgrading the Judaic component of the school curriculum.
Earlier attempts to engage student teachers from a Chabad pedagogical
institute in Israel to teach Jewish subjects were abandoned several
years ago upon realization that the young women lacked necessary
classroom experience, familiarity with local educational practice,
sufficient fluency in the Russian language, and the possibility
of employment continuity. School administrators have attempted to
train experienced local teachers (of secular subjects) in Jewish
studies, by means of some in-service education as well as Russian-language
materials prepared by Shamir, an Israel—based Chabad Soviet/post-Soviet
Jewry support group, and translations of curricula developed by
the United Synagogue (Orthodox) of Great Britain.
Further progress in developing
a source of skilled Judaica teachers is anticipated through (1)
employment of graduates of the newly established local michlala,
and (2) implementation of a proposed project aimed at enhancing
Jewish education in Ukraine through collaboration with the Bar-Ilan
University Lookstein Centre for Jewish Education in the Diaspora.
The latter project, which would be initiated concurrently in Dnepropetrovsk
and the Kiev school associated with Rabbi Bleich, envisions emphasis
on teacher training, curriculum development, and preparation of
learning materials, principally Russian-language texts appropriate
to local conditions. The Lookstein Centre has already completed
an evaluation of both schools. |

1. Unless
otherwise noted, Russian orthography is used throughout this report.
Ukrainian names of cities are printed in parentheses at the beginning
of each city section. Two commonly used Russian words should be
noted, oblast (oblast=) and
obshchina (ob]ina). An oblast
is an administrative region within Ukraine and several other post-Soviet
states. In some respects, it is similar to a state within the United
States; in other respects, it is similar to a county. Ukraine has
24 oblasts and two municipalities with oblast status (Kiev and Sevastopol,
the latter being a military district). An obshchina
is a self-governing organization of the inhabitants of a specific
territorial entity, e.g., a Jewish communal organization claiming
to represent all or most of the Jews in a specific oblast. The appropriate
Hebrew word for a Jewish obshchina is kehilla
(????).
2. A
map of Ukraine appears on the last page of this report.
3. For
example, the Ukrainian government has been more responsive to requests
from Jewish organizations for the return of confiscated communal
property (or equivalent structures).
4. These
include the Ukrainian Vaad, a national coordination and service
group, and its affiliated organizations, as well as the Chief Rabbinate
of Kiev and Ukraine.
5. Rabbi
Yaakov Dov Bleich (Karliner-Stoliner), Chief Rabbi of Kiev and Ukraine,
is the most visible of these leaders. Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki (Chabad),
Chief Rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk, is another outstanding large-city
rabbi. Rabbis in three smaller Ukrainian Jewish population centers
are also recognized as particularly effective: Rabbi Mordechai Bald
(Karliner-Stoliner) of Lvov, Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm (Chabad) of Zhitomir,
and Rabbi Peretz Charach (Karliner-Stoliner) of Khmelnitsky. The
three Karliner-Stoliner rabbis are Americans. The Chabad rabbis
are Israelis. All are young men in their late twenties or early
thirties.
6. Declining
enrollment is apparent in the two largest Ukrainian day schools
-- in Dnepropetrovsk (from approximately 800 to an expected 650),
and in Kiev Gymnasium #144 (from 600 to an expected 500) -- and
in smaller schools, such as that in Kherson, which enrolls about
200 pupils. None of these schools is in danger of closing. Emigration
should be viewed in this context as the exodus of children with
their families, participation of high school students in Na’aleh
16 or other Israel-based programs, and departure of child-bearing
age adults whose children will be born elsewhere.
7. Readers
should refer to previous reports of the writer for general information
about Dnepropetrovsk and Dnepropetrovsk Jewry.
8. Reflecting
the instability of the Ukrainian economy, the extent of this support
has varied widely from year to year.
9. No
attempt will be made to describe all Jewish institutions in detail
as this has been done in other reports. Instead, this statement
will focus on changes that have occurred since the completion and
distribution of previous accounts.
|