Tagged Ukrainian Jews

5 years after the Ukrainian revolution, Jews there say it was a mixed blessing

Participants in the March of Dignity gather in Kiev's Maidan Independence Square for ceremonies marking the first anniversary of the Maidan Revolution that led to the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovic, Feb. 22, 2015. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
May 16, 2019 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA

KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) — Walking on the scorched and scarred sidewalks of this capital city’s main square five years ago, Eduard Dolinsky felt hopeful and proud. A member of Kiev’s large Jewish population and a longtime activist for its communal causes, Dolinsky had hoped that the bloody street fights… Read more »

Who are the Jews of Ukraine?

Children play musical instruments during the celebration of Hanukkah at the Kharkiv Choral Synagogue, in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, Dec. 5, 2018. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
May 16, 2019 /

KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) — Jews have lived in Ukraine for such a long time that their arrival here predates even the first recorded use of the country’s name. Starting in the ninth century, Jews began settling between Uzhgorod and Lugansk — respectively the westernmost and easternmost cities of what… Read more »

For Ukrainian Jews, far-right’s electoral defeat is proof that Putin lied
June 2, 2014 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA
Ukraine's president-elect, Petro Poroshenko, speaking to the media during a news conference in Kiev, May 26, 2013. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Imrages)

(JTA) — To many of his voters, President-elect Petro Poroshenko represented hope for fixing Ukraine’s ailing economy because of the billionaire candy company founder’s success in business. Others believed that Poroshenko, who won 54 percent of the vote in last week’s presidential race, was the best candidate for negotiating… Read more »

Odessa’s Jews lay low as violence engulfs their oasis of calm
May 12, 2014 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA
Supporters of the government in Kiev collecting stones in downtown Odessa in preparation for clashes with pro-Russian protesters on May 2. (Julia Gorodetskaya)

(JTA) — Although Ukraine has been charting a bloody course toward civil war for months, Irina Zborovskaya had always felt safe in Odessa. Living in a cosmopolitan city where hate crimes are rare and a tradition of tolerance for minorities and dissidents prevails, many Odessites were lulled into a… Read more »

In Crimea, some Jews feel safer after Russian intervention
March 4, 2014 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA
Simferopol Reform Synagogue Ner Tamid on Feb. 28, 2014. (Courtesy Simferopol Reform Synagogue Ner Tamid)

Shortly after Russian soldiers occupied the Crimean city of Sevastopol last week, Leah Cyrlikova took her two children out for an afternoon stroll in a city park. When they passed a group of soldiers, they stopped to have a friendly chat and pose with them for photos. While many… Read more »