Seth Rosenfeld at a former synagogue, now a puppet theater.
Jewish mayor of Odessa to trans-
fer one of the former synagogues
to the congregation. Thus far, it
appears he is concerned that he
will look like he is favoring the
Jews.
Life for most Ukrainians today
is difficult. The transition from a
central command economy, dom-
inated by Moscow, to capitalism
and Ukrainian independence has
been traumatic. Many people
have been impoverished, savings
have disappeared, and state
wages are often not paid on a reg-
ular basis. When people are paid,
wages are extremely inadequate
as prices have been deregulat-
ed largely to world levels.
Yet, there are a few who have
managed to amass tremendous
wealth during the transition, and
the resentment is substantial.
There is a considerable
amount of Ukrainian national-
ism, but the definition of a
Ukrainian today seems to be any-
one living within the state bor-
ders.
This "-inclusive" attitude is ex-
tended to Ukrainian Jews, at
least at the government level.
There is support for Jewish day
schools, the president acknowl-
edges positively the Jewish
community and its holidays, in-
ternational relations with Israel
are favorable, and Jews are free
to immigrate to Israel or else-
where as they are doing in very
substantial numbers every
week. (When I called El Al Air-
lines to inquire about traveling
to Israel, I was surprised to be
asked if I wanted a one-way tick-
et.)
I don't know what is in the
hearts and minds of non-Jewish
Ukrainians regarding Jews in
Ukraine, although I have dis-
cussed my Judaism openly with-
out a sense of recrimination.
It is my observation that the
Jews of Ukraine will continue to
have the freedom to immigrate.
But they also need outside sup-
port to re-establish the Jewish
community of Ukraine.
I was impressed to learn of
some of the activities of the Or-
ganization for Rehabilitation
through Training, the Memori-
al Foundation for Jewish Cul-
ture, and Israel's Lishkat Ha
Kesher. In a recent tour of the
Kiev Jewish School No. 299 (for
girls) in the Minska district, I
saw a modern Jewish school
where teachers are paid consid-
erably more than the average
public-school teacher; a modern
computer lab (unavailable in the
typical public school), with Jew-
ish girls translating from Russ-
ian to Ukrainian and vice versa
and studying Hebrew with com-
puter-assisted programs; and
a kosher kitchen that daily
bakes bread for the students and
their families.
Schools like this one receive
basic support from the state, but
it is the outside Jewish support
that enables them to begin to
overcome generations of neglect
and discrimination.
I found the Ukrainian people
to be incredibly warm and hos-
pitable. Very quickly, Americans
and other Westerners are no
longer oddities. Ukrainians are
interested in learning about our
lives and our nations. And the
West is supportive and hopeful
that Ukraine will experience an
extended life of independence,
stability, tolerance and democ-
racy.
❑
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'WHAT ARE PRESENT PROSPECTS FOR PEACE,
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