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

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68 transportation hub and also is well known for its sports teams, especially in football. The Donetsk population is almost evenly divided between Ukrainians and Russians; close to the Russian border, it is highly russified and, in common with Dnipropetrovsk, its citizens are significantly involved in Ukrainian national politics. Estimates of its Jewish population range from 6,000 to 20,000. Over 40 coal pits are located within Donetsk city limits. Seen at left are mining tips and industrial areas, along with accompanying pollution. Photo: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ww w.kinkaa.com/imgd/Donetsk--55189.jpg&imgre. Retrieved July 18, 2011. The Kalmius River, which runs through the city, formed part of the tsarist-era border between the Pale of Settlement in which Jews were permitted to live and the rest of European Russia, which was generally closed to the Jewish population. Photo: http://www.mapofukraine.net/donetsk/donetsk_ukraine.html. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
Jewish Education and Culture 69 44. Or Menachem, also known as Donetsk School #99, is housed in a large former general public school building located in a remote area of the city. Established 15 years ago by Chabad, its current enrollment in grades one through eleven is 153, a significant decline from an enrollment of 256 when the writer last visited the school in 2005. All but two or three pupils are halachically Jewish, said school officials. According to Principal Zinaida Skamrodina, Or Menachem enjoys a good reputation in the city and its pupils do very well on state examinations. Graduates of Or Menachem, said Ms. Skamrodina, attend universities and colleges in Donetsk and Odesa, and some girls attend Beit Chana in Dnipropetrovsk. Included in the regular enrollment figures are 14 girls in a religious machon and 14 boys in a yeshiva katana. Almost all of the youngsters in the more intensive religious programs are children of rabbis. Five Israeli teachers, one of whom is supported by the Israeli Heftzibah program, are responsible for the Jewish studies program at Or Menachem. At minimum, said Ms. Skamrodina, pupils in the regular curriculum have five class periods in Jewish studies each week, including lessons in Hebrew language, Jewish tradition, and Jewish history. In response to a comment by the writer regarding the advanced computer technology courses that she remembered from her previous visits to the school, the writer was shown the current computer facility, which little resembles its previous sophistication. Somehow, an earlier relationship with ORT had been severed and the school lacked resources to replicate ORT equipment and the ORT curriculum. Or Menachem retains 14 computers, most of which are 12 years old. Only six of the computers are operational, said an instructor. The obsolescence of the computers and related equipment means that the level of computer technology taught at the school is very low. The computer technology instructor and Ms. Skamrodina estimated that 85 percent of school families have computers at home and that all such families are on the Internet. Or Menachem uses e-mail and the Internet for some communications with pupil families, they said. Two or three students share use of a single obsolescent computer at Or Menachem in Donetsk due to a lack of modern technology. Photo: the writer. Very few parents assist the school financially, said Ms. Skamrodina in response to a question. However, she noted, some with applicable skills help to repair damage to the facility. The largest outside source of financial assistance, she continued, is the Avi Chai foundation, which provides funding for two annual Shabbatons. Avi Chai used to
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OBSERVATIONS ON JEWISH COMMUNITY LI
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3 begin to pay taxes that they had
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5 Dnipropetrovsk Founded in 1778 on
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7 The major entrance to the Menorah
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9 The preschool is operating “at
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11 pupils (503) and the number of y
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13 families whose relationship to C
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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
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Page 27 and 28: 27 Holocaust, and rebirth of Jewish
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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 and 48: 47 Ms. Katz confirmed that Hesed Me
Page 49 and 50: 49 Dnipropetrovsk. The relationship
Page 51 and 52: 51 It is very difficult to raise mo
Page 53 and 54: 53 are the daughters of local rabbi
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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
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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
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Page 81 and 82: Jewish Education and Culture 81 52.
Page 83 and 84: 83 Surrounding the prayer hall are
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Page 87 and 88: 87 preschools. Authorities could fo
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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
Page 99 and 100: 99 64. An organization bearing the
Page 101 and 102: 101 group, but the young women them
Page 103 and 104: 103 worked in Jewish schools and ca
Page 105 and 106: 105 Lo Tishkach arranges all travel
Page 107 and 108: 107 Ukraine in this period. They cl
Page 109 and 110: 109 kashrut, and/or work in secular
Page 111 and 112: 111 Odesa, said Rabbi Dukhovny, pro
Page 113 and 114: The writer observed 12 to 15 univer
Page 115 and 116: 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
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125 In response to a question, both
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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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