Kishinev: Sadness,
Rebirth On Net

Kishinev is one of those words
that has worked its way into
the lexicon of modern Jewish
life by dint of suffering. The
pogroms that took place there at
the turn of the century were sad
harbingers of the Holocaust to
come.
But Kishinev also tells an in-
trig-uing tale ofJewish survival
and rebirth in the former Sovi-
et Union. Not surprisingly, the •
people who have helped nurture
that rebirth have opened a site
on the World Wide Web to en-
able Jews around the world to
participate in the dramatic sto-
ry
The Friends of Kishinev Jew-
ry site is essentially an electronic
fund-raising brochure for an Or-
ganization that is at the center
of the Jewish revival in the Re-
public of Moldova, a little sliv-
er of the former Soviet Union
north of Romania.
But in the process of seeking
donations, the site offers a fas-
cinating glimpse of the region,
its Jews and the forces that are
coming together to rebuild Jew-
ish life.
Kishinev has "sinister conno-
tations," we learn, because of the
notorious pogroms. "But today
these tragic scenes have happi-
ly given way to scenes of joy —
scenes of a vibrant, spirited Jew-
ish life," according to the Web
- authors.
In a "Jewish Moldova at a
glance" section, we learn that
while many younger Jews have
moved to Israel, there are still
some 30,000 Jews in the repub-
lic. There's a new Jewish school
with some 250 students, a thriv-
ing adult Jewish education pro-
gram, and a "meals on wheels"
program to assist the house-
bound elderly. •
Much of this activity has
been generated by Lubavitch
emissaries from Israel. In a sec-
tion on "Who's Who on the
Kishinev team," we read about
Rabbi Zalman Abelsky, who im-
migrated to Israel in 1949 but
returned to Moldova in 1990 at
the behest of the now-late
Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem
Mendel Schneerson.
The site reads a little too
much like what it is — a fund-
raising tract. Rabbi Abelsky and
his wife come off as nothing
short of saints.
Still, it's hard to find fault
with Jewish activists who have
taken this icon ofJewish suffer-
ing and turned it into a symbol
of stubborn, vibrant Jewish sur-
vival.
Check it out at: httpi/www.
kishinev.org.i1/. ❑

— James D. Besser

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