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

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74 often asks local Jewish businessmen if they can provide jobs. He also asks Jewish store owners to give discounts to needy Jews. Continuing inflation also is a problem throughout Ukraine, said Rabbi Vishedski, attributing it to the weak American dollar. Responding to another question, Rabbi Vishedski stated that antisemitism is not a major issue. Occasionally, some antisemitic hooliganism occurs, such as antisemitic graffiti, but such acts are rare. One doesn’t feel antisemitism in the general atmosphere, he commented. 48. A major accomplishment of Rabbi Vishedski is the opening of a Chabad Jewish community center in 2005. 68 Located diagonally across the street from the current synagogue, the JCC includes a number of class and activity rooms, a fitness room, a large library, a computer room with eight workstations, and a community hall. According to Tamara Zeitlina, the JCC director, up to 400 people use its facilities every week. The blue-domed Chabad JCC is a short walk across the street from the Chabad synagogue. Photo: the writer. The JCC offers classes in Hebrew, English, and Jewish tradition. It hosts a veterans club and other activities for Jewish seniors. It sponsors a youth club and classes for preschool children and their caregivers. A small museum-caliber display of local Jewish history is on view in an ensemble of glass cases outside the library. The library is so extensive and provides such a pleasant working atmosphere that it is visited by Jews and non-Jews alike, said Ms. Zeitlin. The community hall is used for conferences, concerts, and weddings. It seats 250 in a theater setting, 140 when people are seated at tables. The stage curtain (see photo on facing page) is a prop; the facility does not include a stage. 68 At the time that the community center was first contemplated, Rabbi Vishedski was approached by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which offered a substantial contribution to the project in return for JDC naming rights to the building and transfer of legal title to the building to JDC. The local Chabad philanthropic board rejected the take-over proposal.
75 The fitness hall is a gift from Rinat Akhmetov, a Donetsk oligarch who is the wealthiest individual in Ukraine with a net worth estimated by some at $16 billion. 69 His major financial interests are in coal mines and the steel industry. He also owns the leading Donetsk professional football team. Mr. Akhmetov is a Moslem of Tatar origin. The photos above show the community hall and the fitness room in the Donetsk Chabad Jewish community center. Photos: the writer. 49. The Masorti (Conservative) movement has maintained a small presence in Donetsk, led by Aleksandr Ivashenko, a local individual who teaches Jewish studies and Hebrew language at a local university, since 2005. 70 Mr. Ivashenko is a lead teacher in the Hebrew ulpan operated by the Jewish Agency for Israel as well. With financial support from Masorti Olami (World Council of Masorti/Conservative Synagogues), the Masorti movement rents several classrooms and the library at a centrally-located Donetsk public school for its programs, most of which take place on Sundays. A Sunday school attracts about 30 youngsters between the ages of 10 and 17, as well as their parents; the curriculum includes Hebrew, Jewish tradition, Jewish dance, and Jewish cooking (both Ashkenazi and Sephardi). A chapter of the Marom student group has about 30 members, said Mr. Ivashenko. About 60 people attend most Masorti holiday celebrations, he noted. Additionally, the Donetsk community receives funding to send 15 to 20 youngsters to Camp Ramah Yachad (the Masorti movement camp in western Ukraine), said Mr. Ivashenko. Camp Ramah Yachad is very important to developing a sense of Masorti community, continued Mr. Ivashenko. Attendees remain in contact with each other between camp sessions, he said, exchanging ideas and building a sense of identity and 69 See http://www.forbes.com/profile/rinat-akhmetov. Retrieved May 20, 2011. 70 The impetus for establishing a formal Masorti presence and educational program in Donetsk was a visit to the city by Gila Katz, who occupies a senior position in Midreshet Yerushalayim, the Russianlanguage outreach program of the Schechter Institute of Jerusalem. Ms. Katz contacted Mr. Ivashenko who was thought to be interested in Masorti Judaism.
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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
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17 The overwhelming majority of lit
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19 homes, sometimes bringing them s
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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 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
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: 73 purchase new clothing. Donetsk,
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
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
Page 119 and 120: 119 songs, the Holocaust, Jewish he
Page 121 and 122: 121 countries are eligible for aliy
Page 123 and 124: 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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