Reviving Jewish Community Life In Ukraine

by Michelle Kinman Fall 1996

In 1994 the Union of Councils, an international Soviet Jewry and human rights organization, learned that the 7,000 member Jewish community in Lviv was struggling to meet its educational, health and nutrition needs. The community was already taking many positive steps under the guidance of Elimelech Shoiket, who had established a Hebrew school and "meals on wheels" program, but additional support was needed for the programs to thrive. Through the Union of Council's Yad L'Yad (Hebrew for "hand in hand") program, which connects American Jewish communities with those in the former Soviet Union, the Lviv community was paired with two US congregations.

Since then, Chicago Action for Soviet Jewry and Congregation Moriah in Deerfield, IL have supplied educational materials, food, medicine and moral support to Lviv, allowing Shoiket to significantly expand his programs.

The "meals on wheels" program, which brings six meals a week to elderly Jewish shut-ins, once assisted 30 individuals. The program now brings food and companionship to over 100 people who might otherwise become disconnected from the community. As the Jewish population in Lviv diminishes, the elderly are left behind, unable physically to travel or discouraged from trying to start over in Israel late in life. Most receive a monthly pension of five or six dollars. Without relatives or a steady income, the assistance from the program is life saving to these individuals.

The Hebrew school is the only Jewish educational institution for Lviv and its neighboring towns, serving a regional population of 25,000 Jews. Given that the majority of Jews in the area plan to emigrate to Israel, the school prepares Jewish youth for a new life there.

"You should have seen the children come into the Hebrew school with great joy on their faces, smiling, and the people crying when we brought them these meals for the first time," Shoiket said. In addition to the school and meals program, he has started a Jewish summer camp, restored desecrated Jewish cemeteries, and is currently working to erect a memorial at the site of a major Holocaust-era concentration camp in the area.

The members of Lviv's partnership communities receive much in return for their efforts. In addition to gaining new friends in the former Soviet Union, they are learning about the experiences of Jews living in an environment very different from their own, and the difficulties of building a strong community in an area that has traditionally been anti-Semitic. These communities have become true partners, sharing stories and learning about each other. Through the Yad L'Yad program, both the Lviv and the international Jewish communities continue to grow stronger.

Michelle Kinman was an intern at the Union of Council's office in Washington, DC.

Union Of Councils: 1819 H. St. NW, Suite 230, Washington, DC 20006; ph: (202) 775-9770; fax: (202) 775-9776