A second and smaller group, stated Ms. Sidorenko, follows the Project Kesher Beit Binah model and focuses on studying Torah.  The Beit Binah group convenes in the old synagogue building.

The third group consists of mothers of children with special needs and is based at the Beit Chana resource center in which their children are enrolled.  Many members of this group are younger women and are single mothers, said Ms. Sidorenko.  Some are impoverished.  Project Kesher provides psychological support to these women, including a sense of inclusion in the larger Jewish community. 

All three Project Kesher groups, Ms. Sidorenko, observe Jewish holidays.  Other areas of common interest include managing one’s life during the current economic crisis.

41.  The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee maintains a large presence in Dnipropetrovsk, headed by Amir Ben-Zvi, an Israeli who is respected in the city and the larger area.  Mr. Ben-Zvi stated that the economic crisis began to have a serious impact on JDC welfare operations in November.[73]  First, he said, requests for assistance to needy children rose 25 to 30 percent.  Second, elderly hesed clients reported significant new needs.  Third, many individuals in all categories requested assistance in paying utility bills, which increased 35 percent in December.  At the same time, he continued, older Jews who received some aid from their adult children lost that support when the adult children became unemployed or were forced into part-time employment.   The only positive change during this period, he said, is the strengthening of the dollar, which increases the value of remittances from abroad.  Because almost all JDC support originates in North America, the improved exchange rate has been very beneficial to the organization.  Nonetheless, JDC cannot even begin to fund the increased needs of local Jews in this time of economic hardship.

Amir Ben-Zvi heads JDC operations in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Photo: the writer.

The economic crisis has further weakened already at-risk families, stated Mr. Ben-Zvi.  About 40 percent of all Jewish families are headed by a single parent, he said, so the loss of a job by such an individual can be devastating.  Unemployment benefits become available only after three months without work, leaving families without income for an extended period of time. 

Responding to a question, Mr. Ben-Zvi said that about 20 percent of the entire JDC budget for Dnipropetrovsk is dedicated to summer family camps at resort areas.  Such camps provide many opportunities for introducing Jewish customs to family units; typical vacation activities are offered as well.  Some programs are planned for parents and children together in family units, others are intended for separate age groups.  The presentation of Jewish programming in an informal, non-synagogue setting “helps people find themselves in the Jewish community,” said Mr. Ben-Zvi.  Approximately 2,500 Jews from eastern Ukraine will participate in such family camps in 2009, Mr. Ben-Zvi stated, including 700 to 800 from Dnipropetrovsk.

In answer to another question, Mr. Ben-Zvi affirmed that JDC plans to go ahead with construction of a new Jewish community center on the site of the current hesed.  They are still negotiating with potential investors, he said, referring to local businessmen who are expected to rent commercial space in the structure.  It is intended that income from their rental payments will cover a substantial portion of the operating expenses of the JCC.  Mr. Ben-Zvi described such a Jewish community center as “a secular alternative” to the Menorah Center now under construction and declared that the two would not compete.  However, he acknowledged that the hesed may become a part of the new Menorah Center because Rabbi Kaminezki believes that poor people should be comfortable in the new community complex that Chabad is developing.  Mr. Ben-Zvi observed that JDC must support the existing community, i.e., Chabad in Dnipropetrovsk, but did not comment further.

42.  The sister-city relationship between the Boston and Dnipropetrovsk Jewish communities was initiated in 1992 and today is the most comprehensive of any “kehilla” project connecting North American and post-Soviet Jewish population centers.  It involves both Jewish and non-sectarian 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 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 Barukh, 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.

Although some refer to the relationship as a “partnership,” almost all initiatives and funding originates in Boston. Unlike other relationships between North American Jewish federations and post-Soviet Jewish population centers, the Boston-Dnipropetrovsk relationship does not include joint projects with the Joint Distribution Committee or the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Dniprodzerzhinsk 

Dniprodzerzhinsk is located on the banks of the Dnipr River, approximately 22 miles northwest of Dnipropetrovsk. Founded in 1779 as Kamenskoye, its name was changed in 1936 in memory of Feliks “Iron Feliks” Dzerzhinsky (1877-1926), notorious head of the Cheka (renamed OGPU in 1922, NKVD in 1934, and KGB in 1953) from 1917 until his death in 1926. A massive hydroelectric station completed in 1964 provides power for a “black industrial base” focused on iron and steel, industrial chemicals, cement, machine-building, and construction of railroad cars.  Uranium dumps remain from the production of ‘dirty’ nuclear bombs in the postwar period. Dniprodzerzhinsk is rated one of the ten most heavily polluted cities in all of the post-Soviet successor states.

Massive apartment complexes in Dnipro-dzherzhinsk are similar to those found across the post-Soviet states.  Note the industrial chimneys in the background.

Photo: http://www.christopherleigh.org/smokecities.html.  Retrieved May 8, 2009.

The general population of the city is about 250,000. Between 2,000 and 3,000 Jews live in Dniprodzerzhinsk, following heavy emigration (perhaps 2,000 or more) in recent years.

43.  Chabad assigned Rabbi Levi Stambler, a young cousin of Rabbi Meir Stam-bler in Dnipropetrovsk, to the city in 2002.   Rabbi Levi Stambler began to work closely with Dmitry Tarnopolsky, a native of the city who was engaged both in research of local Jewish history and development of a Jewish communal infrastructure.  Mr. Tarnopolsky was instrumental in securing the 2002 return of the synagogue building to the Jewish community.  Used by a teachers’ organization during the Soviet period, the building was reasonably large with a spacious prayer hall (used as an auditorium by the teachers’ group) and several other rooms suitable for offices and various communal activities.  However, the premises included no heating system and required substantial renovations in other facets of its construction as well.

Concluding that the former synagogue could not be restored and modernized at a reasonable cost, Rabbi Kaminezki of Dnipropetrovsk intervened and secured the agreement of Hennady Boholubov, who was born in Dniprodzherzhinsk, to finance a new synagogue building on the same site.  The structure was dedicated in September 2008.  Mr. Boholubov provides a monthly subsidy for its operations.

Its façade designed to replicate the Chabad Lubavitch headquarters building at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, the building includes a synagogue (named Beit Reuven in memory of Rabbi Kaminezki’s father) and a Jewish community center (named Beit Baruch in memory of Mr. Boholubov’s father).  A large social hall/dining room is in the basement. 

Following dedication of the new facility in September 2008, Rabbi Stambler immediately expanded it, partially building out the third floor and a fourth floor attic to accommodate the community day school that had been housed ina conventional school building far too largefor its enrollment of 85 youngsters (kindergarten through grade 11).[74]  Thefourth floor, said Rabbi Stambler, will be further enlarged to include a sports hall.

Crown Heights in Dniprodzherzhinsk.  The photo at right was taken before the third floor and attic were built out to accommodate a small day school.

Photo: Retrieved May 8, 2009. http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2024056

The design of the façade in the style of the Chabad Crown Heights headquarters, said Rabbi Stambler, serves as a symbol of the renewal of Jewish life in Ukraine after the destruction of World War II, the Holocaust, and communism.  He believes that its visibility brings new energy to Jewish life in the area.  Indeed, the four-story brick structure stands out in its surroundings; although very close to the center of the city, the immediate neighborhood of the synagogue is one of small two- to four-room houses on either side of a badly paved narrow street.

Rabbi Stambler estimates that about 50 percent of the working-age population in Dniprodzerzhinsk is unemployed.  Many factories have shut down completely, he said, and others are working only two days a week.  He knows many people who have lost jobs.  The general atmosphere in the city, he continued, is one of unease; crime has risen, and people are depressed or frightened and do not leave their homes.  Attempting to save money, the city has turned off street lights at night, thus inviting even more crime. 

Many Jews are afraid, he stated, believing that antisemitism is just below the surface, ready to erupt at any moment.   Rabbi Stambler said that he does not walk alone in the city, fearful that his Chabad garb might incite an attack.  In fact, drunken young people have already attacked synagogue guards; security cameras recorded the episode, said Rabbi Stambler, and local police arrested the vandals.  In general, Rabbi Stambler commented, the police have been very helpful in all matters concerning the synagogue.

Just when local Jews require more welfare assistance, said Rabbi Stambler, the Joint Distribution Committee has reduced hesed services, including homecare to people confined to their homes.  Therefore, more Jews are coming to the synagogue for help.  The cost of medicine has risen significantly, reflecting both the increased value of the U.S. dollar (because many medicines are imported from the United States) and the imposition of new import taxes by the government.  The synagogue is able to help about 200 people each month with financial subventions and also receives 400 food parcels several times a year from Rabbi Kaminezki in Dnipropetrovsk for distribution to Dniprodzerzhinsk Jews.  Rabbi Stambler also expressed gratitude for the aid extended to local Jews by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews under the leadership of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein.

Rabbi Levi Stambler and his wife Dina are recognized as doing excellent work in Dniprodzherzhinsk.  “We see miracles every day,” said Mrs. Stambler.

Photo: the writer.

44.  The JDC hesed in Dniprodzherzhinsk is located on a side street close to the synagogue.  It is housed in a complex of four small buildings or cottages, each consisting of three or four modest rooms; the buildings once were private homes.  Hesed staff said their client list includes 550 elderly Jews, 80 of whom come to one of the buildings in groups of 20 once weekly for a day center program.  Another 70 elderly Jews receive home care, and many more meet periodically in one of 15 to 20 “warm homes” for socializing and a light snack.

Between 200 and 300 seniors are eligible for free medicines, although the hesed has insufficient stock to fill all prescriptions.  A comparable number receive discount coupons that can be used at a local chain of supermarkets.  The hesed also distributes various medical implements, such as wheelchairs and walkers.

The hesed operates a city-subsidized daycare center for children, as well as a children’s club (for youngsters between the ages of seven and 13), and provides psychological assistance for youngsters who need such care.  All Jewish holidays are observed, with separate celebrations for children and for senior adults.

Kharkiv

Located in northeastern Ukraine near the Ukrainian-Russian border, Kharkiv is the second largest city in the country with a population of approximately 1.5 million people. 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 sophisticated machinery, some of which has been sold in controversial arms deals to rogue states.  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.[75]   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.

Kharkiv National University named after V.N.Karazin was established in 1804 and is one of the most prestigious universities in Ukraine.  Several Nobel Prize laureates are among its graduates.

Photo: http://www.tryukraine.com/photos/kharkov/m/kharkov_15.jpg

The city is highly Russified, a product of its location near the Russian border and the key role of its industrial and educational institutions in the Soviet Union.

45. The Jewish population of Kharkiv probably is between 20,000 and 35,000 according to the Israeli Law of Return, although the writer heard estimates of up to 50,000.   Jews are prominent in almost every sphere of Kharkiv life, including government, business and industry, and culture; most openly identify as Jews and are friendly to Jewish organizations.  However, as is the case in most post-Soviet large cities, only a small proportion of local Jews participate in any form of Jewish life. 

Jewish Education and Culture

46.  The Chabad Jewish day school (School #170) enrolls a total of 353 youngsters, a significant decrease from its maximum of 502 in 2003.  The largest single number – pupils in grades five through 11 – convene in the upper two floors of a conventional public school building.  A renovated kindergarten building accommodates the Chabad preschool and lower school.  Also included in the pupil census are a small machon for girls in grades five through 11, which meets in classrooms in the choral synagogue, and a yeshiva katana for boys in grades five through 11, which meets in a smaller synagogue.  According to Grigory Shoichet, veteran principal of School #170, all but three pupils are halachically Jewish.  The school census includes 18 to 20 youngsters who have returned to Kharkiv from Israel with their families, said Mr. Shoichet; many of them, he said, speak Russian with difficulty.