Commentary
81. The Ukrainian economy remains in grave
condition with no relief in sight. Inflation
is severe, eroding the value of salaries and pensions almost on a daily
basis. A small group of oligarchs,
perhaps ten or so individuals in all, exerts enormous and paralyzing control
over the Ukrainian economy. Corruption
is rife. Taxes continue to rise as the
government attempts to generate new revenue.
Fear of new Russian aggression in the east breeds uncertainty. The necessary development of an effective
military force consumes resources that might otherwise spur economic growth. All of these factors inhibit foreign
investment.
82. Reflecting their economic clout, oligarchs
also wield significant political influence in Ukraine. They are new feudal lords, according to one
observer. Another said that they had
assumed the powers of the old Communist party.
Still others refer to them as "big men." Many
oligarchs, as well as some Ukrainian parliamentarians, lack commitment to democracy.
83. Ukrainian demographic decline is severe and
is a further hindrance to economic growth.
The Ukrainian population has contracted more than 15 percent from
approximately 53 million at the time that Ukraine declared independence in 1991
to approximately 44 million in mid-2015.
The loss of nine million people reflects several realities, not the
least of which are poor health care and continuing emigration. According to Ukrainian state statistics, the
population decline has accelerated in the past few years. Among those who are leaving are many young
people with skills in information technology and related fields who can find
more remunerative employment elsewhere. The
population loss among younger age sectors will generate a deficit of qualified
workers in the Ukrainian labor force.
Further, a shrinking base of productive citizens will be forced to support
the mounting pension burden of an aging society.
84. The decline of the Ukrainian Jewish
population mirrors that of the larger Ukrainian population as a whole, but is even
more severe. Only a minority of those Jews who remain are
engaged in Jewish community life.
Intermarriage and assimilation, a lingering apprehension from the Soviet
period about openly identifying as Jews, and a sense that Jewish communal life
is dominated by seemingly anachronistic hasidic Jews all are deterrents to
association with Jewish community institutions.
Within this larger picture of demographic decline is another significant
population shift, that of a movement of remaining Jews, especially those in
younger age cohorts, from smaller cities and towns to larger Ukrainian cities
and to destinations abroad. Only remnant
Jewish populations remain in such smaller municipalities, too small to be provided
with services in an economically responsible manner or to generate programs on
their own without substantial external subsidy.
Unlike
Russia, which has only two major Jewish population centers, Ukraine has four
cities with significant Jewish population density. Although Kyiv is the capital of the country
and hosts its largest Jewish population, it lacks unambiguous Jewish
leader-ship. Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv,
and Odesa are other prominent Jewish population centers.
85. Most Jews in Ukraine strongly identify with
Ukraine and consider themselves Ukrainian Jews.
During the Soviet period, Jewish ethnicity was deemed a nationality; one
could be a Ukrainian or a Jew by nationality, but not both. Russian-backed separatist efforts in Crimea
and eastern Ukraine have bolstered Ukrainian identification among Ukrainian
Jews. A by-product of increased
Ukrainian identification among Ukrainian Jews is increased tension between Jews
in Ukraine and Jews in Russia.
86. Antisemitism has existed for many generations
in Ukraine; it exists now, and it will exist in the future. It is particularly strong in western Ukraine,
an area in which robust Ukrainian nationalism over many decades has created a
toxic atmosphere for many among the small number of the Jews who remain in that
area.
Numerous
Jews residing in areas outside western Ukraine assert that antisemitism is
minimal, certainly not a factor that endangers them or their families. Some believe that the public involvement of
prominent Jewish oligarchs in supporting Ukrainian military forces and caring
for wounded Ukrainian soldiers protects all Jews. Further, there is a tendency among some
Ukrainians, Jewish and non-Jewish, to blame Russian provocateurs for
instigating antisemitic acts.
87. The existing Ukrainian Jewish community
infrastructure is complex. Throughout
the 1990's and into the first decade of the 21st century, Ukrainian Jews were
perceived as consumers of Jewish products offered by outside Jewish purveyors,
principally such large international Jewish organizations as the American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Although JDC has established nominal lay
leadership boards of its heseds (welfare centers) in some cities, these boards
have been only modestly successful; board members understand that policy is
made elsewhere, in New York or Jerusalem, and have not been eager to
participate in pretentious exercises.
The Jewish Agency has been somewhat more successful in raising funds among
local Jews for specific programs, especially in recent years, but has not
attempted to introduce even nominal local lay governance.
A
second international actor on the Ukrainian Jewish stage has been Chabad (and,
to a much lesser extent, other hasidic groups). Many Chabad rabbis offer more than spiritual
guidance (which is, in any case, irrelevant to most post-Soviet Jews); they also
provide material aid in the form of various welfare services, such as nutrition
programs for impoverished elderly Jews. Additionally, Chabad rabbis sponsor day schools
that, although not always presenting rigorous academic curricula, almost always
offer safe learning environments with free or heavily subsidized hot lunches
and transportation between school and home. Claiming to represent the entire
Jewish population in the cities of their residence, many Chabad rabbis exert
political influence in local governments. In a number of Ukrainian cities and towns, the
Chabad rabbi has been present since the collapse of the Soviet Union or shortly
thereafter and remains a constant leadership figure in a time of turbulence.
Although most of the veteran Chabad rabbis are respected, their influence in local
Jewish life sometimes is resented.
88. Also, several Christian or interfaith groups
are engaged in assistance to Ukrainian Jews.
Several of the former are European Protestants sympathetic to Zionism. In general, these groups have been most
active in transporting Jews to Israel, often working collaboratively with the
Jewish Agency for Israel, the organization designated by most of the
international Jewish community as having official responsibility for such a
task. The International Fellowship of
Christians and Jews recently began to operate an aliyah system of its own in
competition with that of the Jewish Agency.
IFCJ also has been raising funds for some years among Christians in
other countries in support of welfare needs of needy Ukrainian Jews; it
sometimes provides funding to JDC and Chabad rabbis for their charitable work
in Ukraine.
89. In the latter part of the 1990's and the
first decade of the 21st century, several new benefactors entered the nascent
Jewish community scene. First among them
were Jewish oligarchs or "big men," individuals who had grown wealthy
under post-Soviet conditions and were willing to share at least some of their
riches with the communities in which they prospered or in which they had strong
family ties. Their initial Jewish
connection usually was with the local rabbi, who often was the only respected
Jewish leader in the area.
Some
"big men" also established Jewish philanthropic organizations, few of
which have been effective in building Jewish community. The big man philanthropist usually insists on
retaining total control over the work of the organization, unwilling to share
authority or financial responsibility with others.
Whatever
the particular funding vehicle, big men philanthropists often display a style
of leadership that is detrimental to building Jewish community. Further, they may withdraw funding for a
specific project because of a quarrel with another oligarch supporting the same
cause. The Philanthropic Fund of the
Dnipropetrovsk [Chabad] Jewish Community is one of few contemporary Ukrainian
Jewish funds that has had some success in both collecting and allocating community
monies, but even it has lost some of its cohesion in the face of economic
upheaval, continuing domination by a very small group of principal donors, and
business rivalries among the key donors.
90. Apart from oligarchs, indigenous individuals
and groups of more modest income are forming their own Ukrainian Jewish
organizations. Sometimes, these emerging
organizations develop organically from a small local initiative. Some groups are an outgrowth of a Jewish
Agency incubator project or stem from connections made at a Limmud conference,
Project Kesher program, or Moishe House.
Some may incorporate both Jewish-focus and general program
elements. It is likely that most will
require a period of time in which to evaluate mission and priorities.
Some
indigenous Jewish organizations may prosper over the years and become effective
institutions in building local Jewish community. Certainly many Ukrainian Jews have developed
skills enabling them to operate health and human services organ-izations,
Jewish education ventures, and Jewish culture programs. To be successful in developing their own
Jewish community structures, they will require initial financial support and
perhaps modest professional assistance from overseas Jews who are committed to
Ukrainian Jewish independence.
Continuing foreign domination in the management of welfare and other services
for the Jewish population is anachronistic. A consequence of the emergence and empowerment
of indigenous Ukrainian Jewish leadership will be a reduction in influence of
Ukrainian Jewish "big men" and some powerful rabbis.
91. For now, the departure of educated Jewish
young adults is likely to continue, leaving behind an increasingly older Jewish
population still dependent on international support. The Jewish middle class, in common with the
Ukrainian middle class in general, has almost disappeared and is unlikely to
recover until Ukraine itself recovers.
Betsy Gidwitz
Chicago,
Illinois
May 10, 2016
Unless
otherwise indicated, all photographs and translations are by the writer.
Modified
Ukrainian orthography generally is favored over Russian orthography.
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