Synagogue-Related Programs
47. Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz, a native
of Caracas, has served the Kharkiv Jewish population for more than 20 years. He
is highly respected in the city and beyond. In addition to the education
programs cited earlier in this report, the Chabad community under his direction
in Kharkiv owns and operates its own summer camp for children and also
maintains a significant food assistance program for Jewish elderly.
Tension in the city provoked by Russian
actions against Ukraine is substantial, said Rabbi Moskovitz. Additionally, the
crisis itself generates economic instability and fear of antisemitism. Local
people, he continued, believe that the demonstrations in Maidan were good for
Ukraine, but, just the same, they fear the potential for increased antisemitism
from Bandera groups supporting the Maidan protests. Some individuals in
eastern Ukraine, he continued, associate more closely with Russia and Russian
culture than with Ukraine and Ukrainian culture, but they do not want to live
under Russian occupation. As chief rabbi of Kharkiv, said Rabbi Moskovitz, he
must recognize that different people in the city have different opinions on the
situation and, accordingly, it is best that he refrain from expressing strong
opinions of his own. He must be "rabbi of all of the [local] Jews,"
he stated.
Rabbi
Moskovitz continued that the diversity of views in Kharkiv on the Russia
issue reflects the proximity of the city to Russia, whereas people in
Dnipropetrovsk, which shares no border with Russia, speak with one voice in
favor of a strong, sovereign Ukraine with little Russian influence. Russian
authority finds a greater presence in Donetsk, where proximity to Russia also
is an issue.
Rabbi
Moshe Moskovitz and his wife Miriam are a major Jewish presence in Kharkiv.
Photo: the writer.
Weekends in Kharkiv are tense, said Rabbi
Moskovitz, because Russian "visitors" occupy the main square of the
city on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays. They deliberately engage in
provocative behavior, disparaging Ukraine and glorifying Russia. However,
Rabbi Moskovitz stated, Chabad successfully mounted a large Purim celebration
in a public space, attracting 2,000 people. As a precaution, Chabad hired
additional security personnel to protect people at the event, but nothing
unpleasant happened.
Vladimir Putin's assertions that
Russian actions in Ukraine save Ukrainian Jews from antisemitism are a
"sour joke," commented Rabbi Moskovitz. The entire Jewish issue has
been "blown out of proportion," Rabbi Moskovitz continued, both by
those who allege that Jews planned and controlled the Maidan protests and by those
who see antisemites lurking everywhere. Russia and its neighbors have long
been "lands of conspiracy," he mused; people look for plots and
schemes everywhere. Putin recognizes Jewish sensitivity to antisemitism and
attempts to exploit it.
The economy, which was weak before the crisis with Russia erupted, has
deteriorated further since the Russian intervention, stated Rabbi Moskovitz.
Almost all of his major donors have suffered significant losses and,
consequently, Chabad has lost about 50 percent of its local funding. He is
worried about maintaining the day school, bus transportation to/from the
school, the summer camp, and other key programs, Rabbi Moskovitz stated. Other
than the Jewish Agency for Israel, which contributed $3,000 for
institutional security, no foreigners have responded to the current crisis,
declared Rabbi Moskovitz.
It is likely that current political/economic
conditions in Kharkiv will generate increased aliyah, Rabbi Moskovitz
said. In the long term, these departures will reduce enrollment in the Jewish
day school, he commented; however, in the short term, family plans to
emigrate to Israel may lead to increased enrollment as parents may want their
children to learn Hebrew before they move to the Jewish state. The MASA
program in Israel is excellent for young adults who want to go to
Israel, Rabbi Moskovitz said. MASA will expand and should expand, he
continued, because it provides young people with great possibilities for
building new lives in Israel.
48. Rabbi Levi Raices (see page 68)
operates a prison chaplaincy program, visiting Jews incarcerated in
local prisons, especially during Jewish holiday periods. However, stated Rabbi
Raices, current conditions in the city sometimes limit access to prisons and,
thus, the prison visitation program is now less robust than it had been in
previous years.
National and International Jewish
Organizations
49. The Jewish Agency for Israel maintains
its eastern Ukraine head office in Dnipropetrovsk. One of the two Israel
shlichim (emissaries) posted in that city visits Kharkiv every month, sometimes
remaining in the city for almost a week.
The writer was unable to visit a small JAFI office in Kharkiv, which is staffed
by local coordinators who operate several Jewish identity and aliyah-related
programs.
The Jewish Agency holds aliyah seminars and
fairs in the city, recruits young people for Taglit and MASA, offers youth
programs and Hebrew ulpan classes, and assists aliyah candidates in making
arrangements for their move to Israel and enrollment in Israel absorption
programs. This assistance sometimes entails sophisticated placement services
for highly trained scientists from a Kharkiv academic or scientific institute.
50. The writer also was unable to visit the
Kharkiv regional office of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
51. The Government of Israel
maintains a Consulate and Israel Cultural Center in Kharkiv. The
Consulate serves three major functions: (a) it checks eligibility for aliyah to
Israel and issues visas to qualified candidates; (b) it promotes aliyah through
various programs; and (3) it represents the State of Israel in Kharkiv, the second
largest city in Ukraine and an important academic and technology center in the
country. Kharkiv is considered by some to be an unofficial capital of eastern
Ukraine and is host to a number of foreign consulates.
The number of people inquiring about their eligibility
for aliyah has increased significantly since the crisis with Russia began,
said an official of the Consulate.
Not all of those who are eligible for aliyah will go to Israel, said the
official, but local conditions are such that people want to be certain of their
eligibility and the processes involved in leaving Ukraine and resettling in
Israel so that they can leave quickly if the need arises. In response to this
increased interest in aliyah, the Cultural Center has boosted the number of Hebrew
ulpan classes that it offers.
Among students and young people in general,
continued the official, great interest is expressed in various higher
education programs in Israel. However, some applicants overstate their
experience and accomplishments, falling short of requirements for graduate
degree programs that they wish to enter. The Consulate expends considerable
energy in checking academic and other backgrounds.
In general, the official continued, people
in Kharkiv feel insecure and some are leaving the city and country quietly.
However, reluctance to emigrate also is evident, even among those who are
apprehensive about remaining, because at least they have jobs here in Kharkiv,
they have apartments, and they speak the local language. They are uncertain
that they will ever find suitable employment or acceptable housing in another
country. The likelihood of mastering another language often seems very slim.
Krivoi Rog (Krivyy
Rih, Krivyy Rig)
Although the Ukrainian government strongly
encourages the Ukrainianization of all Ukrainian place names, the Russian name
of Krivoi Rog has continued to be more commonly used than is Krivyy Rih, the
Ukrainian equivalent. The city was founded in the 17th century as a Cossack
village, but expanded rapidly in the late 19th century following discovery and
exploitation of high-grade iron ore deposits in the area. Krivoi Rog
stretches some 130 kilometers (81 miles) in length, connecting numerous mining
sites, some of them now inactive. Production of iron and steel, chemicals, and
engineering
equipment dominate its economic base. Krivoi Rog is located approx-imately 136
kilometers southwest of Dnipropetrovsk. Its general population in 2013 was
estimated to be 656,500.
52. The Jewish population of the city
is estimated by local Jews to be between 7,000 and 10,000. The extreme linear
nature of Krivoi Rog has impeded development of a sense of community
among local Jews.
Jewish Education and Culture
53. The Ohr Avner Chabad day school
enrolled 88 youngsters in 2012-2013, a number that endangered national funding
as the Ukrainian government now mandates a minimum of 16 youngsters per class to
secure state support at the elementary school level. Fearful of losing
desperately needed funding, Chabad Rabbi Liron Edri opened enrollment to
non-Jewish students for the 2013-2014 academic year. About one-third of the
pupils have no Jewish lineage at
all, he said. They are attracted to the school because it offers high-quality
education and is housed in com-fortable, modern premises, Rabbi Edri stated.
The
day school campus consists of two large modern buildings and exten-sive outdoor
playing fields. The main building is seen at right.
Photo: the writer (in 2008).
A second structure behind the first
building includes a preschool enrolling 37 youngsters and a spacious modern
sports hall. The design of both structures includes large empty spaces that
remain dark much of the time in an effort to save money on electricity costs.
Rabbi Edri expressed concern about the future
of the school. Demographic losses in the Jewish population are such that
it may be forced to close within a relatively few years, he said. (See interview
with Rabbi Edri below.)
54.
A Museum of Jewish Culture and History of the Holocaust occupies one
room on the second floor of the synagogue building. In a relatively small
space, local historians have arranged an exhibit of Jewish artifacts and other
descriptive materials explaining the history of Jews in the region and the fate
of local Jews during the Holocaust. Trained docents guide visitors, including
school groups, through the displays.
This
section of the one-room museum provides informa-tion on the Holocaust in the
Krivoi Rog area and generally. Other walls and display cases depict other
aspects of local Jewish history and records and artifacts of local Jewish World
War II veterans.
Photo: the writer.
Mikhail Marmer, a local man, has
been a major contributor to the Museum. Grants also have been received from
the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Conference on Jewish
Material Claims against Germany.
55. The Joint Distribution Committee maintains
a small Jewish community center program within the building housing the
local hesed or welfare center. (See below.) JCC activity focuses on ballet
classes and a modest sports program. Other than a small Jewish library, the
JCC includes little Jewish content.
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