21.
The Jewish Agency for Israel rents three rooms in a non-descript
small house in the center of Mykolaiv. The
neighborhood in which JAFI is based is the pre-war Jewish district of the city,
said Irina Kozlova, the local JAFI coordinator. The Mykolaiv office covers three additional
cities, the largest of which is Kherson, located some 60 kilometers
(approximately 37 miles) to the southeast.
Whereas more than 5,000 Jews live in Mykolaiv, the Jewish population of
Kherson probably is between 3,000 and 5,000, said Ms. Kozlova. However, she continued, the smaller Kherson Jewish
population is more difficult to reach because it is dispersed in small
settlements in agricultural regions. The
settlements are a legacy of Agro-Joint.
Irinia
Kozlova, a local woman, is a Jewish Agency coordinator in the Mykolayiv region
of southern Ukraine.
Photo: the writer.
Ms. Kozlova stated that many local Jews are
unaware of their Jewish heritage; others, she continued, may be aware of Jewish
ancestry, but are afraid to identify openly as Jews and participate in Jewish
programming. Only a minority of Jewish
youngsters attend Jewish day schools, she continued. Many are ineligible for day school admission
because the schools require that pupils be halachically Jewish, that is, that
their mothers be halachically Jewish.
Others find the atmosphere of such schools too religious. Neighborhood schools are more convenient and
require no fees.
Local conditions are difficult, said Ms.
Koslova, and this situation builds aliyah.
Perhaps the primary issue cited by those Jews who wish to go to
Israel is the low quality of local higher education. Many people lack confidence in it and are attracted
by educational opportunities in Israel, particularly the Na'aleh high school in
Israel program and the year-long Selah course that prepares young people for
entry into Israeli institutions of higher education. Aliyah to Israel is increasing, Ms. Kozlova
stated; 54 people went to Israel from Mykolayiv in 2012, and 38 went to Israel
from Kherson. Overwhelmingly, the
migrants are young families and youth. Most
adults are well-educated, she continued.
JAFI operates a number of programs within its
three-room premises to acquaint local Jews with Jewish culture and with
Israel. A Sunday school meets
every Sunday for youngsters between the ages of six and 12. Limudiot is for youngsters aged 11 to
14. The primary goal of Limudiot is
preparation of participants for examinations required for acceptance into the
Na'aleh high school in Israel program; because local schools are weak,
youngsters are tutored in mathematics and English. They also are instructed in Jewish tradition
and are assessed for psychological readiness for Naaleh, that is, for readiness
to leave home and family and to live in a group setting while attending high
school in Israel. Taglit (birthright
Israel) remains very popular; eight young people participated in the recent
Taglit winter trip, and 11 have been accepted for the summer trip. Ten young people from the region are enrolled
in 2012-2013 MASA programs, she said.
JAFI promotes these education programs by
participating in a city-sponsored three-day education exhibit designed
to inform young people and their families about educational opportunities in
Mykolaiv and elsewhere in Ukraine. It is
expensive for JAFI to rent space in this exhibit, averred Ms. Kozlov, but it is
very worthwhile because all high schools in the area send their upper classes
to the event and many families attend independently. Some people openly acknowledge their Jewish
identity for the first time when they visit the JAFI display that showcases
various educational programs in Israel.
Three Hebrew-language ulpans operate in Mykolaiv,
said Ms. Kozlov, and a fourth meets in the Chabad synagogue in Kherson. Two Hebrew teachers instruct all of these
classes.
Mykolaiv and Kherson youngsters attend the
same JAFI summer camp that Odesa youngsters attend, said Ms. Kozlov in
response to a question.
22. The American Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee maintains a small three-story building in Mykolayiv that
accommodates a hesed and a Jewish community center. The hesed and a Jewish museum, along with
various offices, are located on the ground floor of the building, and the
community center occupies the second and third floors.
The writer spoke with Mikhail
Goldenberg, who is the local JDC representative. Mr. Goldenberg stated that the hesed
assists 1,800 clients. About 250
housebound elderly receive various services in their homes, and another 100
elderly Jews participate in day center activities in groups of 20 at the
building. The day center program
provides light refreshments, but no longer serves full meals to its
clients. However, said Mr. Goldenberg,
some participants bring food to the center for their day center groups,
especially on their birthdays. Clients
may purchase JDC discount cards for use at local supermarkets and pharmacies,
he said. In addition to programs for
Jewish elderly, Mr. Golden-berg continued, about 200 at-risk children receive
material assistance, and about 80 youngsters from very poor families or who
have disabilities of various types receive therapeutic services at the hesed.
Mikhail
Goldenberg, right, directs the hesed and Jewish community center in Mykolaiv.
Photo: the writer.
About 600 local Jews use the Jewish
community center, stated Mr. Goldenberg.
JCC premises include a community library, class room, art studios, a
fitness studio, and a multi-purpose room/theater. Children come after school and families use
the facility on weekends. The Center
also supports research on the history of Jews in Mykolaiv; after extensive
archival research, several books have been published on this topic. Additionally, said Mr. Goldberg, the JCC
sponsors a family camp that attracts about 120 local Jews every year.
A
one-room museum on the ground floor of the Mykolaiv JCC includes documentation
regarding history of the local Jewish population, including the Holocaust. One corner of the room attempts to depict a
pre-war Jewish home, using furniture and other artifacts preserved from that
period.
Photo: the writer.
Dnipropetrovsk
Founded in 1778 on the banks of the Dnipr
River, Dnipropetrovsk was known until 1926 as Ekaterinoslav, in honor of
Catherine II (Catherine the Great) whose troops conquered the territory. As the
Soviet Union consolidated its power in the 1920’s, place names associated with
the tsarist period were changed to reflect Communist control. Currently the third largest city in Ukraine,
following Kyiv and Kharkiv, the population of Dnipropetrovsk is slightly over
one million. It was a closed city until mid-1990 due to its extensive military
industry, particularly Yuzhmash, a producer of intercontinental
ballistic missiles, booster rockets, and related products.
Dnipropetrovsk
continues to be a center of heavy industry, hosting factories producing cast
iron, rolled metal, pipes, mining and agricultural machinery, large appliances,
and transportation equipment. Other
prominent industries in the city include food processing and apparel manufacture,
the latter for European firms.
Notwithstanding the current economic crisis that affects the local
economy, just as it affects the remainder of the country, Dnipropetrovsk
remains a relatively wealthy city in Ukraine.
The oblast government is
considered among the most enlightened and capable in the country; private enterprise is encouraged and
supported, thus diversifying the economy and providing some hedge in conditions
of economic turbulence.
Historically,
the city has been an important source of leadership for the former Soviet Union
and for post-Soviet Ukraine. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, former Ukrainian
Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko, and former Ukrainian President Leonid
Kuchma all spent significant portions of their careers in important leadership
positions in the city. Yulia Tymoshenko,
the immediate past Prime Minister of Ukraine now imprisoned by the current
President of Ukraine, is a native of Dnipropetrovsk.

Panoramic view of the city as seen
from the tower of the National Mining University. Three stepped towers of the Menorah
Center are visible at right. (The towers appear as beige in color.)
Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dnipropetrovsk_Panorama.jpg. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
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