Individuals and families, whom Rabbi Kaminezki has always
counseled privately, are requesting much more assistance from the Jewish
community this year than in the past, he said. People are seeking funds for chemotherapy and
other medical needs, general household expenses, and rent. They also request his intervention with
municipal authorities so that their utilities are not terminated for failure to
pay their gas or other bills on time.
Attempting to find some humor in the unhappy situation, Rabbi Kaminezki
described himself as the "Jewish community concierge," always on call
for whatever is necessary. All requests
are thoroughly investigated before any assistance is given, said Rabbi
Kaminezki.
Antisemitism is not a major
issue in Dnipropetrovsk, Rabbi Kaminezki stated. Non-Jews are aware that the Jewish population
is very patriotic, very pro-Ukraine. The
reality that local Jewish oligarchs - such as Ihor Kolomoisky, Hennadiy
Boholubov, and Hennadiy Korban - are major financial supporters of the
Ukrainian armed forces and wounded Ukrainian soldiers is well known and highly appreciated,
said Rabbi Kaminezki. Their generosity
redounds to the benefit of the general Jewish population. Further, Rabbi Kaminezki added, people are
simply too concerned about other things to be antisemitic. Whenever incidents do occur, he observed,
both local police and Ukrainian state authorities are very cooperative in
resolving the matter.
26. Vyecheslav “Slavik” or
“Zelig” Brez
is the Executive Director
(Исполнительный
директор) of the Philanthropic
Fund of the Dnipropetrovsk Jewish Community (Благотворительный фонд Днепропетровского еврейского общины), which supports
Chabad interests in the city.
Mr. Brez stated that
the Philanthropic Fund annual budget, which stood at about $5
million in better years, was $4.3 million in 2013-2014, and is $3.6 million in
2014-2015.
(The budget excludes
expenses for the Menorah Center, Beit Chana, the Jewish Medical Center, and
certain other projects/programs that are financed separately.) The considerable decline reflects fewer
contributions, contributions of lesser value, community politics, changes in
the currency exchange rate that are unfavorable to Ukraine, and inflation that
is largely a product of the
confrontation with Russia. At
peak, 90 individuals contributed to the Philanthropic Fund annual campaign; the
number of donors fell to 56 in 2013-2014 and further to 47 in 2014-2015.
Mr. Brez noted that
some contributors lost income-producing properties in Donetsk, Luhansk, and/or
Crimea; in Crimea, he said, Russians simply took over these buildings without
any compensation to the rightful owners.
Further, he added, taxes have risen on almost everything as the
Ukrainian government seeks to raise revenue.
In addition to lost
income, the Philanthropic Fund has been faced with several new expenses. First, internally displaced Jews from the
Donetsk and Luhansk areas, as well as Crimea, continue to require services from
the Jewish community; although many of the migrants have moved on, some still
remain and probably will need assistance for an extended time. Second, emergency provision of food,
medicine, household goods, and other items to low-income local Jews now costs
about $100,000 annually. Third, the very
small Jewish community of nearby Dniprodzerzhynsk, an impoverished and heavily
polluted city to the northwest, is suffering in the current situation and now
needs a significant subvention just to maintain basic services. Fourth, about $20,000 was expended in
establishing an office and other infrastructure for the new community mohel,
Dr. Yakov Gasinovich, who also is a urologist.
Fifth, the residential yeshiva for boys still requires substantial
subsidy. Finally, said Mr. Brez, having suspended
the operation of Chabad summer camps last season due to financial duress,
Chabad will offer a family camp session this summer for the sake of community
morale; people need a vacation outside the city. Chabad simply will have to find the funds to
subsidize the participation of the majority of families unable to pay the full
cost.
Given the name of Vyecheslav at birth, Mr. Brez adopted
the name Zelig as he became involved in the Chabad community as an
adult. He is still known to many as Slavik,
a nickname derived from his original name.
Photo:
http://djc.com.ua/news/view/new/?id=9698.
Retrieved June 27, 2013.
Expanding on the need
for increased assistance to elderly people in the Jewish community, Mr. Brez
said that a 15 percent state tax is now assessed to all pensions, which are
supposed to be tax-free. Further,
certain financial benefits for veterans of World War II have been
suspended. People in their 80's and
older had become accustomed to these bonuses and now find themselves much more
at-risk than they had anticipated.
Mr. Brez expressed deep
appreciation for assistance received from Combined Jewish Philanthropies of
Greater Boston through the kehilla/sister-city relationship between
Dnipropetrovsk and Boston. Aware of the precarious economic situation in
Dnipropetrovsk, CJP raised its annual allocation from $126,000 in 2014 to
$250,000 in 2015. Additionally, Mr. Brez
continued, Boston is beginning to consider some assistance in developing
Dnipropetrovsk as an IT center.
At the request of the
writer, Mr. Brez addressed several specific issues. Discussions are proceeding with advisors and
potential financial supporters in Boston about the development of a downtown
site for the Jewish Medical Center.
The original plan to locate it in the basement of the Menorah Center has
been scrapped, said Mr. Brez, because available space in the basement is too
small to accommodate all of the medical services that should be available in
the center of the city. They are now
considering potential premises in the general office space of the Menorah
Center, the old Jewish community center in back of the synagogue, and other
nearby buildings. Additionally, a
smaller version of the existing JMC would remain in the Beit Baruch building
because it is needed for the patients there.
The Jewish day
school (School #144, which bears the formal name of Levi Yitzhak Schneerson
Ohr Avner Jewish Day School) continues to improve. Independent testing shows that measurable
gains have been achieved in most subjects, grade inflation has ended, and
problematic teachers are no longer at the school. Mr. Brez believes that a new spirit is
palpable in the school.
As reported earlier,
the Microenterprise Loan Fund is extending loans again after a long
hiatus due to the financial crisis in the city.
They are proceeding very cautiously.
It may be required in all future loans that recipients acquire
competence in all computer applications necessary for the business ventures
that they are pursuing.
Regarding internally
displaced Jews from the Donetsk and Luhansk areas, as well as from Crimea,
Mr. Brez said that the local Chabad community underwent a period of severe
shock during the height of the IDP influx, from May through September of
2014. The arrivals included a broad mix
of people, ranging from poorly educated individuals with limited employment
prospects to successful businessmen ready to transfer their businesses to
Dnipropetrovsk. A fairly large
Jewish-owned IT firm is leasing space in the Menorah Center, and the local IT
field generally has been enriched by many highly qualified IT specialists from
Donetsk. Health care also has been
strengthened by the arrival of many capable physicians from the Donbas
area. Thirty to 40 IDP children are now
enrolled in local Chabad schools; some of them had attended Chabad schools in
the Donbas area previously, but others had no previous Jewish education. None of these youngsters pays tuition, said
Mr. Brez.
Many IDP families have
emigrated to Israel, continued Mr. Brez.
Some with weak employment skills have had a very tough time in
Dnipropetrovsk; generally, these are the individuals who remain dependent upon
Chabad, although some have returned to the Donbas regions.
Asked about antisemitism,
Mr. Brez said that it is almost non-existent in Dnipro-petrovsk. The general population, he continued, is
aware that oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky is Jewish - and they know that Mr.
Kolomoisky and several other wealthy Jews are spending great sums of their own
money in support of the Ukrainian defense effort. Further, Mr. Brez commented, many of the most
productive volunteers in the grassroots defense assistance organizations that
have sprung up are Jews. Mr. Brez
believes that Mr. Kolomoisky and certain other prominent Jews are symbols of a
strong Ukraine. At another level, the
Menorah Center is perceived as a community asset, providing clean, modern
premises that are open to all people, regardless of ethnic origin.
27. Ihor Romanov is Director of the regional
office of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities (Объединение юдейских религиозных общин), the Chabad religious organization in
Ukraine. The Dnipropetrovsk region includes 16 communities in Dnipropetrovsk
and Kirovohrad oblasts with a total Jewish population of about 18,000 (not
including Dnipropetrovsk). The role of the regional office is to bring Jewish
life to Jews in towns in the area that do not have rabbis. Only three cities of the 16 - Krivoi Rog,
Kirovohrad, and Dniprodzerzhynsk - have resident rabbis, Mr. Romanov noted.
The regional office extends support to
these Jewish population centers for celebration of Jewish holidays,
stated Mr. Romanov. For example, about
2,000 people in these towns attended Chabad-sponsored seders. Mr. Romanov's office provided matza, wine,
juice, and haggadot, as well as illustrated instructions on how to organize the
seder table. Local communities are
expected to provide and prepare other food items, including meat, chicken,
and/or fish. Chabad sends a young rabbi
or yeshiva student to lead the seder.
The office also provided program materials for Purim celebrations in
eight of the 16 Jewish population centers.
Ihor Romanov represents Chabad in small
Jewish population centers in Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad oblasts. He also is the chief liaison officer between
Chabad and political and judicial systems in Dnipropetrovsk and the two
oblasts.
Photo: the writer.
For each of the last 11 years, Mr. Romanov
continued, his office has distributed gift parcels of food to Jewish
elderly and invalids twice yearly, at Rosh Hashanah and at Purim/Pesach. Recognizing that the need for such food
assistance has grown during the recent crisis, Chabad has increased both the
number of packages distributed (from 5,700 to 6,000 in Dnipropetrovsk and the
16 smaller population centers combined) and the content of the packages. The parcels include basic food staples, such
as tins of fish, canned vegetables, pasta, cooking oil, and other items. The total weight of each parcel is about 14
kg. (approximately 30 lbs.). Hillel
students deliver the packages to the recipients' homes.
Packed bags of food are stored
temporarily in the Golden Rose Choral Synagogue in Dnipropetrovsk, awaiting
distribution to needy Jews before Rosh Hashanah in 2015.
Photo: http://djc.com.ua/. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
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