(Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Krivoi Rog, Donetsk, and Kyiv) Report of a ...

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48 children enrolled in the Center. Many are young single parents, said Ms. Sidorenko, and they are dependent on each other and Project Kesher for psychological support in raising their special needs children and addressing their own needs. The third Project Kesher group, continued Ms. Sidorenko, consists of 12 to 15 older female Hillel members. Project Kesher also enjoys a relationship with a women’s business club sponsored by the Israel Cultural Center; among other activities, this group has held seminars on Israel business opportunities and also studies time management issues related to managing careers and families. In addition to focusing on its own specific agenda, said Ms. Sidorenko, most Project Kesher groups also address various women’s health issues. In a society that remains squeamish about discussing certain health issues in public, many local women are illinformed on matters concerning their own physical and mental well-being; fortunately, she continued, the larger Project Kesher organization has prepared excellent programs on this subject. Project Kesher also works in intergroup relations, encouraging tolerance among the different ethnicities in Dnipropetrovsk. On Holocaust Memorial Day, it brought together women of Latvian, Lithuanian, Belarusan, Georgian, Jewish, Russian, and Ukrainian backgrounds for roundtable discussions in the multipurpose room at the Israel Culture Center. In general, said Ms. Sidorenko, the entire local Project Kesher group convenes only on Jewish holidays. Many members, she said, will gather at the ICC for a Pesach seder that will focus on the role of Jewish women from the Exodus until now. Most subgroups, such as Beit Binah or the group at the Special Needs Resource Center, meet monthly. Project Kesher encourages its members from different cities to meet and exchange ideas, said Ms. Sidorenko. For example, some local Project Kesher women met with Dniprodzerzhinsk counterparts during Chanukah, and another local cohort met with Project Kesher women from Krivoi Rog at Tu b’Shvat. Ms. Sidorenko and other Project Kesher leaders attend national seminars focusing on acquisition of leadership skills and on program concepts. 28. The sister-city relationship between the Boston and Dnipropetrovsk Jewish communities, various details of which are noted elsewhere in this section, was initiated in 1992 49 and today is the most comprehensive of any “kehilla” project connecting North American and post-Soviet Jewish population centers. It involves both Jewish and nonsectarian entities in each city, although most of the latter appear to have been promoted by Boston-area Jews. Almost all projects involve assistance from Boston to 49 The writer, who was living and working in Cambridge at the time, was one of two individuals who initiated the project under the auspices of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston. The other founder, Dr. Judith Wolf, remains active in the partnership; her family has provided leadership and resources for the special needs program at Beit Chana.
49 Dnipropetrovsk. The relationship also includes some projects involving Haifa, Boston’s Partnership 2000 city in Israel. Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston (the Boston Jewish federation) provides essential subsidies to Beit Baruch, the Dnipropetrovsk Jewish day school, and certain other programs. Education components of the relationship include consultations in special education to the special needs program housed at Beit Chana and methodology for teaching English as a second language at School #144. Exchanges of teachers take place annually, and Boston-area Jewish teens travel to Dnipropetrovsk for a winter camp with local Jewish adolescents. Occasionally, the teen exchange also involves youngsters from Haifa as well. A medical care program provides critical expertise in geriatric care, as well as advice, training, and advanced technology in pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology to Dnipropetrovsk clinics and hospitals. Boston Action for Post-Soviet Jewry, although an independent entity, initiated its Adopt-a- Bubbe program in association with the sister-city effort. Although some refer to the relationship as a “partnership,” almost all initiatives and funding originate in Boston. Unlike other relationships between North American Jewish federations and post-Soviet Jewish population centers, the Boston-Dnipropetrovsk relationship does not include collaborative projects with the Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Agency for Israel, or the Hillel student organization. Kharkiv Founded in 1653 at the confluence of the Udy, Lopan, and Kharkiv rivers, Kharkiv today is a city of 1.4 million people, the second largest municipality in Ukraine. Capital of Ukraine from 1921 to 1934, it remains a center of industry, culture, and higher education. Its industrial core is based on armaments and complex machinery, some of which has been sold in controversial arms deals to rogue states. Notwithstanding the relative sophistication of a portion of its economic base, however, the larger economy of Kharkiv and the surrounding area is floundering, a result of general Ukrainian economic conditions, poor governance and a failure of local officials to embrace private business initiatives. Kharkiv is a major university center in Ukraine, hosting more than 25 institutions of higher education, including 13 national universities. The total number of students in the city is about 150,000, of whom approximately 9,000 are from other countries. 50 Young adults are very visible throughout the city as they attend classes in universities and other institutions of higher education. Perhaps as many as 26,000 scientists are employed in Kharkiv’s universities and three national research institutes. 50 One individual familiar with foreign student enrollment in Kharkiv said that a substantial number of Arabs and other foreign Moslems study at various post-secondary education institutions in the city. However, continued this source, Islamic and/or pro-Palestinian agitation is minimal because security forces are quick to deport any foreigners who espouse extremist views.
Page 1 and 2: OBSERVATIONS ON JEWISH COMMUNITY LI
Page 3 and 4: 3 begin to pay taxes that they had
Page 5 and 6: 5 Dnipropetrovsk Founded in 1778 on
Page 7 and 8: 7 The major entrance to the Menorah
Page 9 and 10: 9 The preschool is operating “at
Page 11 and 12: 11 pupils (503) and the number of y
Page 13 and 14: 13 families whose relationship to C
Page 15 and 16: 15 boys’ home (a former synagogue
Page 17 and 18: 17 The overwhelming majority of lit
Page 19 and 20: 19 homes, sometimes bringing them s
Page 21 and 22: 21 program in Kharkiv come to Beit
Page 23 and 24: 23 return for the teaching done by
Page 25 and 26: 25 started as more funds become ava
Page 27 and 28: 27 Holocaust, and rebirth of Jewish
Page 29 and 30: 29 manufacturer inevitably will ent
Page 31 and 32: 31 Two newcomers were expected to j
Page 33 and 34: 33 individual needs, providing food
Page 35 and 36: 35 managing. He has heard of very f
Page 37 and 38: 37 committee for the clinic was est
Page 39 and 40: 39 Jewish community. Another 120 in
Page 41 and 42: 41 Natalia Rier, who directs the lo
Page 43 and 44: 43 speakers are fluent in English a
Page 45 and 46: 45 The consul noted that the ICC wi
Page 47: 47 Ms. Katz confirmed that Hesed Me
Page 51 and 52: 51 It is very difficult to raise mo
Page 53 and 54: 53 are the daughters of local rabbi
Page 55 and 56: 55 requires that all private school
Page 57 and 58: 57 Vkontakte, to recruit students a
Page 59 and 60: 59 seniors purchase in order to rec
Page 61 and 62: 61 Rabbi Moskovitz noted, a busines
Page 63 and 64: 63 writer met with George Faingold,
Page 65 and 66: 65 males if they would willingly se
Page 67 and 68: 67 utilities, petrol, transportatio
Page 69 and 70: Jewish Education and Culture 69 44.
Page 71 and 72: 71 46. It is common in Ukraine and
Page 73 and 74: 73 purchase new clothing. Donetsk,
Page 75 and 76: 75 The fitness hall is a gift from
Page 77 and 78: 77 National and International Jewis
Page 79 and 80: 79 drain”, but she doesn’t yet
Page 81 and 82: Jewish Education and Culture 81 52.
Page 83 and 84: 83 Surrounding the prayer hall are
Page 85 and 86: 85 the program is very expensive to
Page 87 and 88: 87 preschools. Authorities could fo
Page 89 and 90: 89 in its generally poor neighborho
Page 91 and 92: 91 connected to the Internet; howev
Page 93 and 94: 93 60. Rabbi Yonatan and Mrs. Ina M
Page 95 and 96: 95 accounting procedures require th
Page 97 and 98: 97 Other individuals in Kyiv with w
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99 64. An organization bearing the
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101 group, but the young women them
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103 worked in Jewish schools and ca
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105 Lo Tishkach arranges all travel
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107 Ukraine in this period. They cl
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109 kashrut, and/or work in secular
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111 Odesa, said Rabbi Dukhovny, pro
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The writer observed 12 to 15 univer
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115 and funds simply do not exist,
Page 117 and 118:
117 rightwing antisemites, i.e., ne
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119 songs, the Holocaust, Jewish he
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121 countries are eligible for aliy
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123 The JDC welfare caseload in the
Page 125 and 126:
125 In response to a question, both
Page 127 and 128:
127 Commentary 84. The Jewish popul
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129 accommodates modernity and thei
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(Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Krivoi Rog, Donetsk, and Kyiv) Report of a ...

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