Here is a great video to watch if you’d like to learn more about the history and current situation of Jews in Ukraine. This Zoom webinar was offered by the Jewish Theological Seminary on March 4, 2022.
The description of the video from YouTube is as follows:
There are between 50,000 to 100,000 Jews in Ukraine today. It is an active and extremely diverse community – with five rival Jewish umbrella organizations, two rival chief rabbis (both Hasidic), congregations associated with the Masorti and Reform Movements, and an impressive network of JCC’s. The country’s president and defense minister are Jewish, as are some of its top businessmen/oligarchs. Now Ukrainian Jewry is thrust into a crisis, due to the Russian invasion of their country. This talk will analyze the state of the community, and its reactions to the unfolding events.
Professor David Fishman was joined by senior JTS rabbinical student Alisa Tzipi Zilbershtein, who was born in Russia and is now based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Alisa is dedicated to serving the Jews of the Former Soviet Union and to the revival of Judaism in Eastern Europe, and she plans to return to Ukraine after her ordination this May.
All donations made in connection with this program will be directed to Project Judaica, JTS’s joint academic program with the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, which trains the future leaders of Ukrainian Jewish communities.
