Although
the Center is somewhat less conspicuous than it was at the time of its
conception four or five years ago due to the development of other large
buildings in its immediate vicinity, it remains pretentious and ostentatious,
thus stoking fear in Dnipropetrovsk and elsewhere that it will generate
antisemitism. The reality that
independent Jewish organizations, such as the Jewish Agency for Israel and the
Hillel student organization, feel compelled to move their operations to a
Chabad facility only underlines the hegemonic influence of Chabad in
Dnipropetrovsk, commented both local and non-resident observers. Expanding on that theme, several Jewish
community professionals expressed apprehension that potential participants in,
say, JAFI or Hillel activities, will forgo such involvement in order to avoid
any contact with religion-associated structures in general or Chabad in
particular.
Jewish
Education and Culture
2. Chabad maintains two early childhood
education centers in the city, neither of which the writer was able to
visit during her May 2012 journey. The Ilana
day care center enrolls about 35 children between the ages of one and
three. A much larger program is Beit
Tsindlicht, a preschool accommodating about 150 youngsters between 2½ and six in a two-story structure with a well-equipped
playground. Both programs operate a full day, serving
both breakfast and lunch. Each is highly
regarded by participating families and by professionals as well. Both charge
tuition, although accommodation is made for a small group of youngsters from
disadvantaged home situations. Almost all children
are halachically Jewish. Although a
significant proportion of lead teachers and administrators are Israeli women educated
in Israel, the majority of instructors were trained at Beit Chana.
Chabad
nursery school children visit a shmurah matza factory operated by Chabad near
Dnipropetrovsk.
Photo: ЕВРЕЇ
ДНІПРОПЕТРОВЩИНИ: історіа та
сучасністью.(Дніпропетровськ:
Арт-Прес, 2011),
44.
A
plan to open a second early childhood program on the east (and less
well-developed) side of the Dnipr River in premises controlled by Chabad
collapsed in 2010 when Chabad refused to pay bribes in return for city
operating permits. Beit Tsindlikht
currently operates at capacity.
3. School
#144, which bears the formal name of Levi Yitzhak Schneerson Ohr Avner
Jewish Day School, occupies a three-building campus used as a boarding
school during the Soviet period. The
main building houses 315 youngsters in grades one through eleven in a general
curriculum with a modest Jewish studies program. (See below.) Another 175 pupils are enrolled in more
intensive Chabad religious programs, i.e., 90 boys in a yeshiva katana and 85 girls in a machon, each in its own
separate building. (See below.)
The main building of
School 144 is seen at right. The girls’
machon is behind this building and the boys’ yeshiva katana is to the left of
the pictured building.
Photo: Chabad of
Dnipropetrovsk.
At its peak census in the
late 1990’s, the school enrolled close to 700 youngsters, most in the general
program. At that time, it was the largest Jewish day school in all of the
post-Soviet states and one of the largest in all of Europe. Both the total number of pupils (490)
and the number of youngsters in the secular program have been decreasing
over the years at the same time that both the raw number and proportion of
pupils in the more intensive religious sections has been increasing. The growth of the Chabad religious programs
reflects the increasing Chabad population in the city, whereas the decreasing
enrollment in the general program reflects Jewish demographic losses, parental disdain
for the religious studies program and for Chabad, and a perception that the
general studies program is inferior to that in many other city schools.
Mikhail Gugel, principal, stated that the school remains a public
school and charges no tuition. It
receives the regular municipal allocation for its secular studies program and
is subsidized by the local Chabad Jewish community (Благотворительный фонд Днепропетровского еврейского общины) for the religious studies component, ongoing upkeep and
renovations, and periodic equipment upgrades, such as several additional smart
boards and some new computers (replacing obsolescent ORT-supplied computers)
for the 2011-2012 academic year. Major
renovations are underway on the third floor, Mr. Gugel commented.
The
Avi Chai Foundation continues to support an annual Shabbaton for a
limited number of pupils and their parents, continued Mr. Gugel. The most significant outside funder is the Boston
Jewish federation (Combined Jewish Philanthropies) which, through its
Jewish community sister-city relationship with Dnipropetrovsk, provides funding
for two short-term camps,
English-language library books, and training of English-language instructors. CJP also purchased new equipment for the
school kitchen in 2011-2012, said Mr. Gugel.
In response to a question, Mr. Gugel said that the school needs
even more computers and related equipment, electronic textbooks, and laboratory
equipment and supplies for instruction in both physics and chemistry. A previous plan to build a full-size sports
hall and community rooms seems to have been abandoned; the school has only a
small gymnasium in the yeshiva and a small fitness studio in the machon
building that is used only by girls enrolled in the machon.
Principal
Mikhail Gugel came to School #144 in 2010 after many years of experience in
Dnipropetrovsk secular schools and local colleges and universities. His parents live in Israel.
Photo: the writer (in 2011).
The
Jewish studies component of the school curriculum consists of three
class periods weekly in Jewish tradition and three class periods in Hebrew
language instruction. All Jewish
holidays are observed, and Jewish content is included in music, art, and
drama. A more comprehensive Jewish
studies program would interfere (мешаться) with the general studies curriculum – and the
secular studies component is far more important to parents than is the Jewish
program, said Mr. Gugel. School #144
continues to improve its secular instruction, he noted, and has done well in
municipal competitions in various subjects.
Nonetheless, the school is not considered among the strongest or most
prestigious in the city.
Curricula
in the yeshiva katana and machon emphasize
religious studies. Both are directed by
Israelis and the predominant language of instruction in Chabad subjects is
Hebrew. Although both boys and girls
also study general subjects, the secular studies program in the yeshiva katana,
in particular, is limited.
Envisaging
future enrollment, Mr. Gugel said that he expected that the school would
grow marginally in the next few years.
He observed that 32 youngsters would graduate from eleventh grade in
June 2012 and that 50 children had already registered for the 2012-2013
first-grade class. Demographic factors,
including a policy that limits enrollment to halachically Jewish youngsters,
constrain school growth.
At
the time of the writer’s visit in May, plans were proceeding to open a separate
yeshiva katana in fall 2012 with boarding facilities for
boys between the ages of approximately 10 and 16. Enrollment would be limited to youngsters
from Chabad families so that high standards of study and commitment to Chabad
tradition would be maintained. A market
for this type of institution is known to exist, especially for the sons of
Chabad emissaries stationed in small Ukrainian towns who fear inability to
educate their children in communities with very few other Chabad families. Further, it is hoped that the high quality of
such an institution would attract boys from Chabad families in other countries
whose families are eager for them to imbibe the rich Chabad history in this
area of Ukraine. However, a decision was
made shortly after the writer’s visit to postpone opening of this program for
at least one additional school year.
4. Under the sponsorship of Tzivos
Hashem (Heb., The Army of G_d), a Chabad children’s organization, Rabbi
Yossi Glick manages several children’s programs in the city. The best known of these are separate residential
facilities for Jewish boys and girls from troubled home situations. Often referred to as “social orphans,” most
of the youngsters are from single-parent homes in which the custodial parent is
unable to provide adequate childcare due to alcohol or other substance
addiction, impoverish-ment, or other problems.
Some parents are imprisoned. A
few youngsters have been cared for by aging grandparents unable to cope with
the needs of active, growing children.
Rabbi
Yossi Glick, a native of Australia, manages several Chabad children’s programs
in Dnipropetrovsk.
Photo: the writer.
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