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

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Other individuals in Kyiv with whom the writer spoke said that ISU focuses on its law
and finance concentrations because these departments are profitable. Enrollment at
ISU may be as low as 500, stated a professional at a Kyiv Jewish organization,
observing that the ISU Jewish market had “evaporated” due to Jewish population
decline in the smaller cities and towns in central and western Ukraine from which ISU
draws its population. This professional doubted that any identifying Jews remain at the
institution. Poorly prepared students of all ethnic backgrounds now had other choices
due to the emergence of other institutions since Ukrainian independence. ISU simply is
not competitive in any field, claimed several people. They also noted that many Jewish
professors, as well as qualified academics of other ethnic backgrounds, have left the
institution because its salaries are very low. 85
63. Iosif Akselrud is the Director of Hillel CASE, the section of the Hillel student
organization that oversees Hillel operations in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia,
Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. He is less concerned with specific Hillel programs in Kyiv
than with overall management issues, he said. He described his responsibilities as
fundraising, staff deployment and training, and other large questions concerning the
entire CASE area. Although aware of Hillel operations in Kyiv, his role transcends local
issues.
One of Mr. Akselrud’s major accomplishments has been the establishment of a
functional indigenous board of directors for Hillel CASE. In 2010, its first year of
existence, the board raised $45,000; its goal for 2011 is $60,000, Mr. Akselrud said.
Apart from the board, Mr. Akselrud himself is one of the most successful indigenous
fundraisers in the post-Soviet states. His efforts yielded almost $400,000 in 2010,
including the $45,000 from the board; other major contributors, stated Mr. Akselrud are
the Genesis Philanthropic Group of Moscow, the Hamama
incubator program of the Jewish Agency for Israel, the
Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund, 86 and Vadym
Rabynovych of Ukraine. The remainder of the CASE
Hillel budget of $1,134,000 is provided by Hillel
International. CASE Hillel, noted Mr. Akselrud, now
submits to an annual independent audit, a measure that
remains rare among local non-profits.
Iosif Akselrud, right, is one of the most successful Jewish
fundraisers in the post-Soviet states. His primary work is with
Hillel, but he also is influential in other groups.
Photo: the writer.
85 See page 56 for information about the International Solomon University branch in Kharkiv.
86 The Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund (Joods Humanitair Fonds) was established in 2002. Its mission
is to support projects restoring Jewish life in former Communist countries, Jewish education, mutual
respect between people, and support civilian victims in war zones. Its asset base derives from unclaimed
Jewish property remaining in the Netherlands following World War II and the Holocaust.