Minsk also has a number
of newly-founded Jewish
groups, he said. The Minsk
Cultural Society (MOLEK)
has 250 paid members, but
often attracts 600 people to
its lectures, concerts,
readings and celebrations.
The group is renovating . a
three-story building, which
when complete in a few-mon-
ths, "will be like the Jewish
Community Center without
a health club," Dr. Gitelman
said.
Other Jewish groups in-
clude a Maccabi organiza-
tion, youth groups, a Yiddish
literary club and a Jewish
war veterans -organization.
But it is the classrooms
that best reflect the
renaissance of Jewish cul-
ture in Minsk, he said. Min-
sk has 200 students enrolled
in its two Jewish Sunday
schools, one of which is
housed in the synagogue.
Both schools are oriented
toward modern Orthodoxy.
Adult education courses are
offered.
"Many of the teachers are
local people who learned
about Judaism either before
the revolution or just recent-
ly," he said. Some are ama-
teurs, like Yuri Dorn, a con-
struction worker turned
school principal, who are
simply dedicated to teaching
Judaism.
Students show few signs of
boredom, Dr. Gitelman said.
"These are all new things to
them," he said. "They all
know they are Jewish, bUt
they didn't know what it
meant. They are eager to
find out."
The students and their
parents look at the schools
as preparation for their
future lives in Israel, Dr.
Gitelman said. Not only do
they want to learn Hebrew,
but the Jewish culture and
history of their new country.
While Jewish institutions
are surviving in Minsk, the
realities of Soviet life often
make it a struggle. Shor-
tages of food, medicine and
other goods mean Minsk
Jews must rely on others for
assistance, said Dr.
Gitelman, who gave the
community basic office sup-
plies for the cultural center
and 113 pounds of dried
kosher soup for a children's
winter day camp.
Minsk is also home to at
least three refuseniks. They
are men in their 30s and 40s
who have close relatives in
the United States, but have
been barred from leaving for
more than 11 years because
they allegedly have access to
state secrets, Dr. Gitelman
said.
Help for the Jewish com-

Boris Minkov, president of the
Minsk synagogue, praying in shul.

munity in Minsk has al-
ready come from the Bel-
mont synagogue, near Lon-
don, England, which has
supplied educational toys
and books for the city's
schools, he said. Detroit
leaders also hope to coor-
dinate their efforts with
those from Belmont and
Zurich, Switzerland, so
nothing is duplicated.
While an estimated 15,000
Minsk Jews have no plans to
leave the Soviet Union, "our
activity is not designed to
retard aliyah," Dr. Gitelman
said. "It's designed to pro-
vide a Jewish identity and
facilities . . . which will lead
to a stable Jewish life."
"Anti-Semitism is not the
most important issue," Dr.
Gitelman said. "Anti-
Semitism has always been
around. We know all about
it. What we haven't had is
the opportunity to create a
Jewish life."
Strengthening the Minsk
Jewish community "will
provide facilities for a mean-
ingful Jewish life in Minsk
itself," he said. But it will
also aid those Minsk Jews
who emigrate to Israel or the
United States.
Because many Minsk Jews
have relatives in Detroit and
may eventually come to set-
tle here, efforts to enhance
the Minsk community can
affect the future of Detroit,
he said.
It will make a big differ-
ence if those Jews settling in
Detroit already have a
Judaic background, he said.
"They will be more likely to
affiliate with the Jewish
community in Detroit."

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