Lviv Ukraine 2

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Beis Aharon V’Yisrael Synagogue

Beis Aharon V’Yisrael Synagogue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tsori Gilod Synagogue
Sinagogalvov1.jpg
Basic information
Location UkraineLvivUkraine
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism
Status Active
Architectural description
Architect(s) Albert Kornbluth
Architectural style Baroque style
Completed 1925

The Beis Aharon V’Yisrael Synagogue, also known as Tsori Gilead Synagogue, is the only functioning Jewish Orthodox synagogue in LvivUkraine.

History

The Tsori Gilod Synagogue in Lviv

The Tsori Gilod Synagogue is one of only two Jewish temples in Lviv to have survived World War II. There were nearly fifty before the Nazi occupation.

Originally built in 1925, the synagogue was designed by Albert Kornbluth in the Baroque style. The construction was financed by Jewish charity “Tsori Gilod”, and was designed to accommodate 384 worshipers.

The building managed to survive the war as the Nazis used it as a horse stable. After 1945, under the Soviet regime, the synagogue was used as a warehouse. In 1989, the building was returned to the Jewish community. It was renovated from 1995 to 1997, and again from 1999 to 2000. In 2004-5, under the initiative of HGSS Friends of Lviv (a charity associated with Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue in London), and with substantial funding from the Rohr family of New York and Miami, it underwent a major interior renovation under the direction of architect Aron Ostreicher. At the same time the magnificent artwork on the walls and ceilings was restored.

Today, Tsori Gilod synagogue is the only functioning synagogue in Lviv. Services are conducted by the Chief Rabbi of Lviv and West Ukraine, Rabbi Mordechai Shlomo Bald, a Karlin-Stolin hasid from Borough Park, Brooklyn, so the religious community became known as “Beis Aharon V’Israel”, as many institutions of Karlin.

Lviv Tourist Information Centre  click to download pdf 

Self Guided Jewish Tour

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More icons of past Jewish life in Lviv

Monument to the Lviv Ghetto

Memorial plaque at Klepariv Train Station

Other views of Lviv

Videos

On the coach to Lublin, Poland

 

 

Lviv Ukraine 1

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Arriving by overnight train from Kyiv

Lviv

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lviv
Львів
Lwów
City of regional significance
Flag of Lviv
Flag
Coat of arms of Lviv
Coat of arms
Official logo of Lviv
Logo
Motto: Semper fidelis
Coordinates: 49°51′N 24°01′ECoordinates49°51′N 24°01′E
Country  Ukraine
Oblast Lviv Oblast
Municipality Lviv
Founded 1240–1247
Magdeburg law 1356

Lviv (UkrainianЛьвівĽvivIPA: [lʲwiu̯]PolishLwówIPA: [lvuf];[1]RussianЛьвовLvovIPA: [lʲvof]LatinLeopolis, “the city of the lion”), the largest city in western Ukraine and the seventh largest city in the country overall, is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine. Named in honor of the Leo – eldest son of Rus’ King Daniel of Galicia. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (also called Kingdom of Rus`)[2] from 1272 to 1349 when was conquered by King Casimir III the Great who then became known as the King of Poland and Rus`. From 1434 becoming the regional capital of the Ruthenian Voivodeship in the Kingdom of Poland, then renamed Lembergin 1772 as the capital of the Habsburg Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. In 1918 in a short time was the capital of the West Ukrainian People’s Republic. Between the wars, the city was known as Lwówand was the centre of the Lwów Voivodeship in the Second Polish Republic. After the Second World War, it became part of the Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR) and in 1991 of independent Ukraine. Administratively, Lviv serves as the administrative center of Lviv Oblast and has the status of city of oblast significance. Its population is 729,429 (2015 est.)[3].

Lviv was the centre of the historical region of Galicia. The historical heart of the city, with its old buildings and cobblestone streets, survived Soviet and German occupations during the Second World War largely unscathed. The city has many industries and institutions of higher education such as Lviv University and Lviv Polytechnic. Lviv is also a home to many world-class cultural institutions, including a philharmonic orchestra and the famous Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The historic city centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lviv celebrated its 750th anniversary with a son et lumière in the city centre in September 2006.

Jews

The first known Jewish settlers in Lviv date back to 1256 and became an important part of this city cultural life, making significant contributions in trade, science and culture.[84] Apart from the Rabbinate Jews there were many Karaites who had settled in the city after coming from the East and from Byzantium. After Casimir III conquered Lviv in 1349 the Jewish citizens received many privileges equal to that of other citizens of Poland. Lviv had two separate Jewish quarters, one within the city walls and one outside on the outskirts of the city. Each had its separate synagogue, although they shared a cemetery, which was also used by the Crimean Karaite community. Before 1939 there were 97 synagogues.

Before the Holocaust about one third of the city’s population was made up of Jews (more than 140,000 on the eve of World War II). This number swelled to about 240,000 by the end of 1940 as tens of thousands of Jews fled from the Nazi-occupied parts of Poland into the relative (and temporary) sanctuary of Soviet-occupied Poland (including Lviv) following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact that divided Poland into Nazi and Soviet zones in 1939. Almost all these Jews were killed in the Holocaust. After the war, a new Jewish population was formed from among the hundreds of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians that migrated to the city, then called Lvov. The post-war Jewish population peaked at 30,000 in the 1970s. Currently the Jewish population has shrunk considerably as a result of emigration (mainly to Israel and the United States) and, to a lesser degree, assimilation, and is estimated at 1,100. A number of organizations continue to be active.

The Sholem Aleichem Jewish Culture Society in Lviv initiated the construction of a monument to the victims of the ghetto in 1988. On 23 August 1992, the memorial complex to the victims of the Lwów ghetto (1941–1943) was officially opened.[85] During 2011–2012, some anti-Semitic acts against the memorial took place. On 20 March 2011, it was reported that the slogan “death to the Jews” with a Swastika was sprayed on the monument.[86] On 21 March 2012, the memorial was vandalized by unknown individuals, in what seemed to be an anti-Semitic act.[87]

Judaism

Lviv historically had a large and active Jewish community and until 1941 at least 45 synagogues and prayer houses existed. Even in the 16th century, two separate communities existed. One lived in today’s old town with the other in the Krakowskie Przedmieście. The Golden Rose Synagogue was built in Lviv in 1582. In the 19th century, a more differentiated community started to spread out. Liberal Jews sought more cultural assimilation and spoke German and Polish. On the other hand, Orthodox and Hasidic Jews tried to retain the old traditions. Between 1941 and 1944, the Germans in effect completely destroyed the centuries-old Jewish tradition of Lviv. Most synagogues were destroyed and the Jewish population forced first into a ghetto before being forcibly transported to concentration camps where they were murdered.[90]

Under the Soviet Union, synagogues remained closed and were used as warehouses or cinemas. Only since the fall of the Iron Curtain, has the remainder of the Jewish community experienced a faint revival.

Currently, the only functioning Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Lviv is the Beis Aharon V’Yisrael Synagogue.

Lviv Tourist Information Centre  click to download pdf

Self Guided Jewish Tour

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The Coffee Factory

The Space of Synagogues

Space of Synagogues download pdf

Space-of-Synagogues

Signs of previous Jewish life

Memorials

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The Jacob Glanzer Shul

Jakob Glanzer Shul

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jakob Glanzer Shul
Синагога на Угольной Львов.jpg
Basic information
Location LvivUkraine
Status Active
Architectural description
Architectural style Baroque style
Completed 1844

The Jakob Glanzer Shul, or the former Chasidim Synagogue, was a synagogue at the Ugol’naya street Nr.3 in LvivUkraine.

History

The synagogue was built from 1841 to 1844 in a Baroque style. Its construction was financed by Lvov merchant Jacob Glazner, and in his honor named the “Jacob Glazner Shul”. In 1844 Jacob Glanzer’s synagogue was the second-largest synagogue, after the Big city synagogue. The synagogue has been constructed in a complex with two stores. There was a prayer hall and two tiers of galleries for women were attached. And two tiers of balconies over the west side of the Shul which was destroyed by the Soviets in the years 1959/60 (Noted by Rabbi B.Vernik) It was also the location (only*) of a mikveh. Noted rabbi David Kahane, author of a memoir about the Holocaust, worked in the synagogue. During the Soviet period, ( after 1960 ) it was used as a gym.

On the end of year 1958 a few months before we left Lvov my parents donated our own bath tub from our home on the Kalinina Street -(today Zamarstunivska Street) *helping to build a mikveh, at this time there wasn’t a mikveh on the premises, – ( The mikveh was on Pidval’na Street ) right afterwards the Soviets closedown the Shul! ( Noted by Rabbi B. Vernik ).

After the Second World War in this Synagogue served as a Rabbi Yaakov Gur-Aryeh which was the main spiritual leader of the Jewish community in Lvov. After the death of Rabbi Yaakov Gur-Aryeh Soviets closed the synagogue took literally everything and removed all the Sifrei Torah. that was considered to be in the hundreds and were in the synagogue, not only in the Aron Kodesh but also in the cabinets below each window of the synagogue were these all Sifrei Torah were accommodate. ( Torah Scrolls ) from all destroyed synagogues of the city and they have moved them directly to Moscow and the premises handed over to an Institute. The main prayer hall was converted to a Sports Hall, the western two tiers of galleries for women were dismantled, the beautiful murals on the walls and ceiling were over painted, the Aron Kodesh ( Torah Ark ) dismantled. Wall cabinets and all the nice furniture of the synagogue was dismantled. (( Amended by Rabbi B. Vernik who lived, grew up and studied in 58, then in 19 schools in Lviv after the war, until the day of the opening of the TV station on the High Castle Mount in the end of year 1958. )) The Synagogue was the main concourse despite of all this horror of Stalin’s and after Stalin’s dark days – a lot of people disappeared send to Siberia and have been killed.

The Prayers in this Shul were very, very warm with a lot of hope for much better times ! On the High Jewish holidays in the synagogue were thousands of people, but on Yom Kippur, it was just impossible to move, not only in the synagogue, as well as in the hallway and even a lot more of this, the Street of the Shul on afternoon so many people arrived and congregate, mainly students, who stood and talked quietly among themselves and waited for the Blow of the Shoifor, listening to the sound of the Shoifor which symbolized the end of Yom Kippur. In the great Hall of the synagogue could be heard “the thundering ” wonderful voice of the 85 years old a famous **Cantor Boruch Leib Shulman. In the small Hall across the corridor were praying the Talmidej Chahomim and many Chasidim of different backgrounds and mostly were without a beard. On Saturdays there were three praying groups (Minian), one early morning at five o’clock in the morning, because they have to go to work early, a second group at seven o’clock in the morning, and the third group the talmidej chachomim and a lot of the Hasidim on nine o’clock Minian. On the weekdays there were every day Minianim. On the Shul back yard were working two Shochatim for chicken. On the Succoth holiday there were a Suka – this all was happened in a horrible Stalin’s and after Stalin’s days between the years of 1946 -1958 – ( this is my testimony and a witness from my very young age. )

  • Chazan Boruch Leib Shulman was a Professional Cantor (1870-1963 in 1946, lived in Lviv,and was the Cantor of this synagogue until its closure in 1961 Boruh Leib Shulman (1870, Township of Kalinkovichi, Minsk guberniya, 1963), Cantor, singer (tenor).

By Rabbi B. Vernik.

Since 1989 it has been used as a center of Jewish culture, the “Sholom Aleichem Jewish Culture Society”. External walls of a building were repaired in 1990. (The window immured on the left side is the external indicator of the location of the Holy Ark.)

External links

 

The Yanivske Cemetery

Other views of Lviv

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Updates – Muizenberg and Others

Four items today

  • Jack Aaron’s speech
  • Rabbi Mirvis on Teresa May
  • Teresa May’s speech at the Finchley Untied Synagogue 2015
  • A visit by the Stropkover Rebbe

Jack Aaron’s opening speech at the Vancouver opening of Memories of Muizenberg Exhibition

 

Subject: Chief Rabbi Mirvis on Theresa May

Date: 17 July 2016 at 11:01:00 PM GMT+3

13 July at 18:33 ·

As David Cameron’s tenure as Prime Minister ends, I wish to take this opportunity to thank him for his deep friendship and for his unwavering commitment to promoting the values of decency, respect, liberty and responsibility, which we all hold so dear.

I have been privileged, in particular, to have worked alongside Mr Cameron to ensure that Britain remembers the Holocaust and educates generations to come about the lessons we must learn from it. He is a man who not only speaks with great principle and conviction but who acts upon what he believes. I know that the strong relationship he enjoys with the Jewish community will endure for many years to come.

Today, Theresa May becomes Prime Minister at a time of great political, social and economic uncertainty. Few people are more talented or better qualified to tackle these immense challenges. I recall the speed and the sensitivity with which she reached out to the Jewish community following the terror attacks on Jewish targets in Europe last year. As she made clear then – “Without its Jews, Britain would not be Britain”. She has proved herself to be a friend and champion of our community and of other faith communities who share her values of tolerance and understanding.

Last night, on the eve of her becoming Prime Minister, Theresa May kept a longstanding arrangement to join Valerie and me at our home for dinner. The fact that she did this in the midst of critically important preparations before taking up office is a reflection of her strong desire to keep to her commitments and the esteem in which she holds the British Jewish community. I was delighted to have the opportunity to give her my blessings at this very auspicious time.

I wish her every success as Prime Minister and look forward to building upon our warm relationship over the coming years

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Speech by Teresa May at Finchley United Synagogue last year when she was Home Secretary.

 

 

Kiev: From Maidan To Lavra

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The walk through the park to the Military Museum, Lavra, and and back to Arsenal

Map-Walk-Kiev

The Military Museum

Inside The Museum

Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates50.426634°N 30.5636°E

Museum of the history of Ukraine in World War II
Комплекс Українського державного музею Великої Вітчизняної війни 12.jpg
Established May 9th, 1981
Location Ivan Mazepa Str. 44, KievUkraine
Director Oleksandr Serhiyovych Artyomov
Website www.warmuseum.kiev.ua

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II (UkrainianМузей історії України у Другій світовій війніRussianМузей истории Украины во Второй мировой войне) is a memorial complex commemorating the German-Soviet War located in the southern outskirts of the Pechersk district of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, on the picturesque hills on the right-bank of the Dnieper River.[1]

The museum was moved twice before ending up in the current location where it was ceremonially opened on May 9 (the Victory Day), 1981, by the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. On June 21, 1996, the museum was accorded its current status of the National Museum by the special decree signed by Leonid Kuchma, then the President of Ukraine.

It is one of the largest museums in Ukraine (over 300 thousand exhibits) centered on the now famous 62-meter tall Motherland statue, which has become one of the best recognized landmarks of Kiev. The museum has been attended by over 21 million visitors.

Memorial complex

The memorial complex covers the area of 10 hectares (approximately 24.7 acres) on the hill, overlooking the Dnieper River. It contains the giant bowl “The Flame of Glory”, a site with World War II military equipment, and the “Alley of the Hero Cities“. One of the museums also displays the armaments used by the Soviet army post World War II. The sculptures in the alley depict the courageous defence of the Soviet border from the 1941 German invasion, terrors of the Nazi occupation, partisan struggle, devoted work on the home front, and the 1943 Battle of the Dnieper.

Name change

Until July 2015 the official name of the museum was Museum of the Great Patriotic War.[2] In April 2015, the parliament of Ukraine outlawed references to the term “Great Patriotic war” as well as Communist symbols, street names and monuments, in a decommunization attempt.[3] On 16 May 2015 Minister of Culture Vyacheslav Kyrylenko stated the museum will change its name.[4] Two months later the museum officially changed its name.[2]

The Motherland Monument

Mother Motherland, Kiev

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Motherland Monument
Location KievUkraine
Coordinates 50.426521°N 30.563187°ECoordinates50.426521°N 30.563187°E
Built 9 May 1981
Architect Yevgeny VuchetichVasyl Borodai

The Motherland Monument (UkrainianБатьківщина-МатиRussianРодина-мать) is a monumental statue in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The sculpture is a part of the Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II, Kiev.[1] The stainless steel statue stands 62 m (203 ft) tall upon the museum building with the overall structure measuring 102 m (335 ft) and weighing 560 tons. The sword in the statue’s right hand is 16 m (52 ft) long weighing 9 tons, with the left hand holding up a 13 by 8 m (43 by 26 ft) shield with the State Emblem of the Soviet Union. The Memorial hall of the Museum displays marble plaques with carved names of more than 11,600 soldiers and over 200 workers of the home-front honored during the war with the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Hero of Socialist Labor. On the hill beneath the museum, traditional flower shows are held. The sword of the statue was cut because the tip of the sword was higher than the cross of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.[2]

Background

Shield of the monument showing the state emblem of the Soviet Union

In the 1950s a plan circulated of building on the spot of the current statue twin monuments of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, nearly 200 m (660 ft) tall each.[3] However, this did not go ahead. Instead, according to legend, in the 1970s a shipload of Communist Party officials and Soviet sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich looked across at the hills by the Lavra and decided the panorama needed a war memorial. Vuchetich had designed the other two most famous giant Soviet war memorials, The Motherland Calls in Volgograd and the Soviet soldier carrying German infant constructed after the war in East Berlin. However, Vuchetich died in 1974, and the design of the memorial was afterwards substantially reworked and completed under the guidance of Vasyl Borodai.

Final plans for the statue were made in 1978, with construction beginning in 1979. It was controversial, many criticised the costs involved and claimed the funds could have been better spent elsewhere. When director of construction Ivan Petrovich was asked to confirm the costs of 9 million roubles, he responded that this was a conservative estimate. The statue was opened in 1981 in a ceremony attended by Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev.

In modern-day Kiev, the statue remains controversial, with some claiming it should be pulled down and its metal used for more functional purposes. Financial shortages mean that the flame, which uses up to 400 m3 (14,000 cu ft) of gas per hour, can only burn on the biggest national holidays, and rumours persist that the statue is built on unstable foundations, something strongly denied by the Kiev local government.[4][5]

In April 2015, the parliament of Ukraine outlawed Soviet and Communist symbols, street names and monuments, in a decommunization attempt.[6]But World War II monuments are excluded from these laws.[7]

In popular culture

A scene in the 2006 novel World War Z depicts a Ukrainian tank commander and his surviving men fleeing in their vehicles from an abandoned and burning Kiev under the watchful gaze of the Rodina-Mat.

The monument is prominently featured in the music video for the song “Get Out” by the band Frightened Rabbit.[8]

Lavra

Audio from the service

Audio Player

 

Video

Kiev Pechersk Lavra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Києво-Печерська лавра)
National Historic-Cultural Sanctuary / Monastery
2005-08-15 Pechersk Lavra seen from river Dnepr Kiev 311.JPG
Riverside view of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra
Landmarks Great Lavra Belltower,Gate Church of the Trinity (Pechersk Lavra),Church of the Saviour at Berestove,Near Caves

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra[3][4] (UkrainianКиєво-Печерська лавра, Kyievo-Pechers’ka lavraRussianКиeво-Печерская лавра, Kievo-Pecherskaya lavra), also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kiev.

Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051[5] the Lavra has been a preeminent center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with the Saint Sophia Cathedral, it is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[6][nb 1] The monastery complex is considered a separate national historic-cultural preserve (sanctuary), the national status to which was granted on 13 March 1996.[8] The Lavra is not only located in another part of the city, but is part of a different national sanctuary than Saint Sophia Cathedral. While being a cultural attraction, the monastery is currently active. It was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine on 21 August 2007, based on voting by experts and the internet community.

Currently, the jurisdiction over the site is divided between the state museum, National Kiev-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve,[9] and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) as the site of the chief monastery of that Church and the residence of its leader, Metropolitan Onuphrius.

Arsenalna

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Arsenalna (Kiev Metro)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arsenalna
KyivMetroLogo.png Kiev Metro station
Arsenalna metro station Kiev 2010 01.jpg

The Station Hall
Coordinates 50°26′40″N 30°32′44″ECoordinates50°26′40″N 30°32′44″E
Owned by Kiev Metro
Line(s) Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line
Platforms 1
Tracks 2
Construction
Structure type underground
Depth 105.5 m (346 ft)
Platform levels 1
Other information
Station code 121
History
Opened 6 November 1960
Electrified Yes
Services
Preceding station Kiev Metro Following station
Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line
toward Lisova

Arsenalna (UkrainianАрсенальна) is a station on Kiev Metro‘s Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line. The station was opened along with the first stage and is currently the deepest station in the world (105.5 metres).[1] This is attributed to Kiev’s geography where the high bank of the Dnieper River rises above the rest of the city. Also unique is the station’s design which lacks a central concourse thus similar in layout to stations on the London Underground.

Although Arsenalna (architects H.Hranatkin, S.Krushynsky, N.Shchukina) appears as a pylon trivault, the “Pylons” along with their portals are all purely cosmetic decoration. Pink marble walls with bronze grills (that feature metallic artwork on Soviet themes) is all that is present in the portal. Instead the station has a small lobby which is directely connected to the escalator tunnel. The ride on the escalators itself is one of the longest totaling up to five minutes.

Surface vestibule (2007)

The layout of the stations has reasons, as the cosmetic pylons were planned to be real. The main one comes from the tough soils of the location and the problems with hydroisolation which forced the builders to conserve the design. Similar problems happened on the first stage in Moscow however later the stations Lubyanka and Chistye Prudy were completed. In Kiev this never was to happen. Originally built as an interim on a long track before the line crossed the Dnieper and continued into the left bank residential districts, it was never to have a large passenger traffic to justify a complex and costly reconstruction. Nor was the station ever planned to be a transfer point (unlike the Moscow stations, which ultimately was the reason for them to be rebuilt). Thus with the Kiev Arsenal Factory, for which the station was named, being the only human source of passengers, this station is likely to remain as it is permanently.

Decoratively, apart from the spoken portals, the station is monochromatic in its appearance. The plastered vault ceilings, ceramic tiled walls and the marbled “pylons” all are of white colour. A large sculptural artwork depicting revolutionary events that took place in the Arsenal factory in 1918 graced the wall of the main lobby hall until it was removed in the early 1990s.

The station’s large surface vestibule is situated on the square leading onto Ivana Mazepy, Moskovska and Mykhailo Hrushevsky streets. Behind the station is a service bay that is used for nighttime stands and minor repairs to the railcar park.

Overnight train to Lviv

 

 

Babi Yar & Inside Brodsky

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Back to the Metro

Babi Yar

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The Menorah Memorial at Babi Yar

Babi Yar & Inside Brodsky
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Babi Yar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Babi Yar
Babi Jar ravijn.jpg

Babi Yar ravine in Kiev.
Also known as Babyn Yar
Location Outskirts of Kiev
Date Present
Incident type Genocide, mass murder
Perpetrators Friedrich JeckelnOtto RaschPaul BlobelKurt Eberhard and others
Organizations EinsatzgruppenOrdnungspolizeiSonderkommando 4a
Camp Syrets concentration camp
Victims 33,771 Jews in initial two-day massacre {29 survived}
100,000–150,000 Ukrainians, Jews, Romanis and Soviet prisoners of war on later dates
Memorials On site and elsewhere
Notes Possibly the largest two-day massacre during the HolocaustSyrets concentration camp was also located in the area. Massacres occurred at Babi Yar between 29 September 1941 to 6 November 1943 when Kiev was liberated.

Babi Yar (RussianБабий ЯрBabiy YarUkrainianБабин ЯрBabyn Yar) is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and a site of massacres carried out by German forces and local collaborators during their campaign against the Soviet Union.

The most notorious and the best documented of these massacres took place from 29–30 September 1941, wherein 33,771 Jewswere killed. The decision to kill all the Jews in Kiev was made by the military governor, Major-General Kurt Eberhard, the Police Commander for Army Group South, SS-ObergruppenführerFriedrich Jeckeln, and the Einsatzgruppe C Commander Otto Rasch. It was carried out by Sonderkommando 4a soldiers, along with the aid of the SD and SS Police Battalions backed by the local police.[1] The massacre was the largest mass killing for which the Nazi regime and its collaborators were responsible during its campaign against the Soviet Union[2] and is considered to be “the largest single massacre in the history of the Holocaust” to that particular date,[3] surpassed only by Aktion Erntefest of November 1943 in occupied Poland with 42,000–43,000 victims and the 1941 Odessa massacre of more than 50,000 Jews in October 1941, committed by Romanian troops.[4]

Victims of other massacres at the site included Soviet prisoners of war, communists and Roma.[5] It is estimated that between 100,000 and 150,000 people were killed at Babi Yar during the German occupation.[6]

A Wild Storm 
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A revisit to the Brodsky Synagogue – from the inside

Map of Brodsky Synagogue

Brodsky Synagogue 

Synagogue in Kiev, Ukraine
The Brodsky Choral Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Kiev, Ukraine. It was built in the Romanesque Revival style resembling a classical basilica. Wikipedia
 AddressShota Rustaveli St, 13, Kiev, Ukraine
Opened1898

The streets of Kiev

 

Podil & Walking Up The Descent!

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Podil

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Podil (UkrainianПоділ) is a historic neighborhood in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Kiev, and the birthplace of the city’s trade, commerce and industry. It contains many architectural and historical landmarks, and new archaeological sites are still being revealed. It is a part of the city’s larger administrative Podilskyi District.

The Podil Synagogue

Inside The Synagogue

Great Choral Synagogue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Great Choral Synagogue
Синагога на Подолі вул. Щекавицька, 29 в Киеве 2.jpg
Basic information
Location Schekovytska 29, Podil
UkraineKievUkraine
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism
Status Active
Leadership Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich
Architectural description
Architect(s) 1895 – Nikolay Gardenik
1915 – Valerian Rykov[1]
Architectural style Moorish Revival
Completed 1895

The Great Choral Synagogue of Kiev, also known as the Podil Synagogue or the Rozenberg Synagogue, is the oldest synagogue in KievUkraine. It is situated in Podil, a historic neighborhood of Kiev.

History

The Aesopian synagogue was built in 1895.[2] It was designed in Neo-Moorish style by Nikolay Gordenin. Gabriel Yakob Rozenberg, a merchant, financed the building.[2] In 1915 the building was reconstructed by Valerian Rykov. The reconstruction was financed by Vladimir Ginzburg, a nephew of Rozenberg.

In 1929, the synagogue was closed. During the German occupation of Kiev in World War II, the Nazis converted the building into a horse stable.[3]

Since 1945, the building has again been used as a synagogue. In 1992, Yaakov Bleich was appointed rabbi of the Jewish community of Kiev and chief rabbi of Ukraine.

Yaakov Bleich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2012

Yaakov Dov Bleich (born 19 October 1964) is an American-born rabbi and member of the Karlin-StolinHasidicdynasty. He has been widely recognized as Chief Rabbi of Kiev and all of Ukraine since 1990[1] and has served as vice-president of the World Jewish Congress since 2009.[2]

He graduated from Telshe Yeshiva High School in ChicagoIllinois where he began his rabbinical studies. From 1984-1986, he studied at the Karlin Stolin Rabbinical Institute in Jerusalem, and received his Rabbinical ordination (semicha) at Yeshiva Karlin Stolin in Brooklyn.

In 1990, Bleich was appointed by his Karlin-Stolin community as Chief Rabbi of Kiev and Ukraine. Since his arrival in Ukraine, Bleich has been instrumental in founding the Kyiv Jewish City Community, the Union Of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine, the first Jewish day school in Ukraine, the first Jewish orphanage and boarding school in Ukraine, the Chesed Avot welfare society of Kyiv, the Magen Avot social services network of Ukraine, and a host of other organizations.

In 2005 he was one of three contenders for the role of chief rabbi, alongside Chabad Lubavitch appointees Azriel Chaikin (appointed 2002) and Moshe Reuven Azman (appointed 2005).[3] There is also a Progressive (Liberal/Reform) Chief Rabbi of Kiev and Ukraine, Alexander Dukhovny. But Rabbi Yaakov Bleich has always been recognized by the government as chief rabbi of Kiev and Ukraine.

In 2008, Kievan weekly magazine Focus named Bleich among the most “powerful foreigners” in the country.[4]

Personal

Rabbi Bleich grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn. In 1987, he married Bashy Wigder of Monsey, New York.History of the Jews in Kiev

History of the Jews in Kiev

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The history of the Jews in Kiev stretches from the 10th century CE to the 21st century, and forms part of the history of the Jews in Ukraine.

Middle Ages and Renaissance

Bohdan Khmelnytsky Entering Kievby Mykola Ivasiuk.

The first mention of Jews in Kiev is found in the 10th century Kievian Letter, written by local Jews in ancient Hebrew. It is the oldest written document to mention the name of the city. Jewish travelers such as Benjamin of Tudela and Pethahiah of Regensburg mentioned the city as one with a large Jewish community. During the Mongol occupation the community was devastated, together with the rest of the city, but the community revived with the acquisition of the city by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During Polish–Lithuanian rule, Jews were allowed to settle in the city, but they were subject to several deportations in 1495 and again in 1619.[1]

During the Khmelnytsky Uprising in 1648 most of the Jews in the city were murdered by Zaporozhian Cossacks, along with most of the Jews in Ukraine. After the Russian occupation in 1654, Jews were not allowed to settle in the city. This ban was lifted only in 1793 after the Third Partition of Poland.

Modern history

Percentage of ethnic Jews in Kiev’s districts according to the 1919 municipal population census

Brodsky Synagogue around 1970; then used as a puppet theatre and currently used as a synagogue[2][3]

In the 19th century the Jewish community flourished and became one of the biggest communities in Ukraine. In that period many synagogues were built including the city’s main synagogue, the Brodsky Synagogue. Jewish schools and workshops were built all around the city.

The community suffered from a number of pogroms in 1882, and again in 1905, when hundreds of Jews were murdered and wounded. The Beilis trial, in which a local Jew, Beilis, was accused of the ritual murder of a child, took place in the city in 1903. Beilis was found innocent.

During the Russian revolution and the Ukrainian War of Independence the city switched hands several times with new pogroms against the Jews. After the establishment of the Ukrainian SSR the Jewish population grew rapidly and reached approximately 224,000 people in 1939.[1]

At the beginning of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union most Jews escaped from the city. The remaining 33,771 Jews were concentrated in Babi Yar, and were executed by shooting on September 29-30th 1941, in an act that became one of the most notorious episodes of the Holocaust. Another 15.000 Jews were murdered in the same place during 1941-1942.

After the war the surviving Jews returned to the city. On September 4–7, 1945 a pogrom took place and [4] around one hundred Jews were beaten, of whom thirty-six were hospitalized and five died of wounds.[5] In 1946 there was only one operating synagogue in Kiev. The last rabbi to officiate in Kiev was Rabbi Panets, who retired in 1960 and died in 1968; a new rabbi was not appointed.[1] After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, most of the Jewish population emigrated from Kiev. After Ukrainian independence there was a revival of Jewish community life, with the establishment of two Jewish schools and a memorial in Babi Yar, where an official ceremony is held every year.[6]

Today there are approximately 20,000 Jews in Kiev, with two major religious communities: Chabad (rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman); and Karlin(rabbi Yaakov Bleich). Тwo major synagogues, the Brodsky Choral Synagogue and the Great Choral Synagogue, servе these communities.[7]

Antisemitism

Ukrainian Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman called on Kiev’s Jews to leave the city and the country if possible, fearing that the city’s Jews will be victimized in the chaos during Ukrainian revolution of 2014: “I told my congregation to leave the city center or the city all together and if possible the country too… I don’t want to tempt fate… but there are constant warnings concerning intentions to attack Jewish institutions”.[8]Moreover, the CFCA (the Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism) reported more than three antisemitic incidents occurred in Kiev since the 2014 Crimean crisis.[9] Both the pro-Russian Ukrainians and the Ukraine-government supporters blame each other in the exacting situation of the Jews of Kiev. Leaders of Ukraine’s own Jewish community have alleged that recent anti-Semitic provocations in the Crimea, including graffiti on a synagogue in Crimea’s capital that read “Death to the Zhids,” are the handiwork of pro-Russian Ukrainians. Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, who presides over Ukraine’s Jewish Federation, signed a letter asking Russia to end its aggression, and compared the current climate in Crimea to that of pre-Anschluss Austria.[10] The memorial Menorah in Babi Yar was desecrated twice with sprayed swastika, during Rosh Hashana and a couple of months later. [11] [12] During June 2015 there was an explosion in a Jewish-owned shop in Kiev. An extreme right-wing organization claimed responsibility for the incident.[13] Later that month, the memorial Menorah in Babi Yar was desecrated again.[14]

 Walking around Podil

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Up Andriivs’kyi Descent past St Andrew’s Church to Saint Sophia’s Cathedral

St Michael’s Monastery to Maidan Square

Activities along Khreschatyk Street

Videos

Touring Kyiv

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My guide

Margarita Lopatina was recommended  by the CHABAD Rabbi in Kiev

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Margo met me at my hotel, The Kozatskiy in Maidan Square at 10am.

We spent the next 3 hours on her walking tour.

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Ukrainian Revolution

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2014 Ukrainian revolution
Part of the Euromaidan
2014-02-21 11-04 Euromaidan in Kiev.jpg

A crowd in Kiev on 21 February, 2014 after a peace agreement was signed.
Date 18–23 February 2014 (5 days)[1][2][3]
Location Mariinsky Park and Instytutska Street, Maidan NezalezhnostiKiev, Ukraine
50°27′0″N 30°31′27″E
Goals
Methods
Result Euromaidan/Opposition victory

Number
20,000–100,000+ protesters 7,000+ government forces[11]
Casualties
Deaths: 100[12]
Missing:166[13]
Injured: 1,100+[14][15]
Arrested: 77[16]
Deaths: 13[17]
Injured: 272[15]
Captured: 67[18]
Deaths: 106
Injuries: 1811
Ministry of Healthcare totals (16 April @6:00 LST)[19]Dead & missing during entire conflict: 780
Medical volunteer estimates[20]

A Previous Jewish mansion

 Buildings & Memorials

Parliament

The Market

Golda Meir

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Sholem Aleichem

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Margo on Sholem Aleichem

Sholem Aleichem

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sholem Aleichem
SholemAleichem.jpg
Born Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich
March 2 [O.S. February 18] 1859
PereyaslavRussian Empire(now Ukraine)
Died May 13, 1916 (aged 57)
New York CityUnited States
Pen name Sholem Aleichem (Yiddishשלום־עליכם‎)
Occupation Writer
Genre Novels, short stories, plays
Literary movement Yiddish revival

Sholem Aleichem statue in Netanya, Israel, sculpted by Lev Segal

Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, better known under his pen name Sholem Aleichem (Yiddish and Hebrewשלום־עליכם‎‎; Russianand UkrainianШоло́м-Але́йхем) (March 2 [O.S. February 18] 1859 – May 13, 1916), was a leading Yiddish author and playwright. The musical Fiddler on the Roof, based on his stories about Tevye the Dairyman, was the first commercially successful English-language stage production about Jewish life in Eastern Europe. The Hebrew phrase Shalom aleichem literally means “Peace be upon you”, and is a greeting in traditional Hebrew and Yiddish.

Biography

Solomon Naumovich (Sholom Nohumovich) Rabinovich (RussianСоломо́н Нау́мович (Шо́лом Но́хумович) Рабино́вич) was born in 1859 in Pereyaslav and grew up in the nearby shtetl (small town with a large Jewish population) of Voronko, in the Poltava Governorateof the Russian Empire (now in the Kiev Oblast of central Ukraine).[1] His father, Menachem-Nukhem Rabinovich, was a rich merchant at that time.[2] However, a failed business affair plunged the family into poverty and Solomon Rabinovich grew up in reduced circumstances.[2] When he was 13 years old, the family moved back to Pereyaslav, where his mother, Chaye-Esther, died in a choleraepidemic.[3]

Sholem Aleichem’s first venture into writing was an alphabetic glossary of the epithets used by his stepmother. At the age of fifteen, inspired by Robinson Crusoe, he composed a Jewish version of the novel. He adopted the pseudonym Sholem Aleichem, a Yiddishvariant of the Hebrew expression shalom aleichem, meaning “peace be with you” and typically used as a greeting. In 1876, after graduating from school in Pereyaslav, he spent three years tutoring a wealthy landowner’s daughter, Olga (Hodel) Loev (1865 – 1942).[4]From 1880 to 1883 he served as crown rabbi in Lubny.[5] On May 12, 1883, he and Olga married, against the wishes of her father. A few years later, they inherited the estate of Olga’s father. In 1890, Sholem Aleichem lost their entire fortune in a stock speculation and fled from his creditors. Solomon and Olga had their first child, a daughter named Ernestina (Tissa), in 1884.[6] Daughter Lyalya (Lili) was born in 1887. As Lyalya Kaufman, she became a Hebrew writer. (Lyalya’s daughter Bel Kaufman, also a writer, was the author of Up the Down Staircase, which was also made into a successful film.) A third daughter, Emma, was born in 1888. In 1889, Olga finally gave birth to a son. They named him Elimelech, after Olga’s father, but at home they called him Misha. Daughter Marusi (who would one day publish “My Father, Sholom Aleichem” under her married name Marie Waife-Goldberg) was born in 1892. A final child, a son named Nochum (Numa) after Solomon’s father was born in 1901 (under the name Norman Raeben he became a painter and an influential art teacher).

After witnessing the pogroms that swept through southern Russia in 1905, Sholem Aleichem left Kiev and resettled to New York City, where he arrived in 1906. His family[clarification needed] set up house in GenevaSwitzerland, but when he saw he could not afford to maintain two households, he joined them in Geneva in 1908. Despite his great popularity, he was forced to take up an exhausting schedule of lecturing to make ends meet. In July 1908, during a reading tour in Russia, Sholem Aleichem collapsed on a train going through Baranowicze. He was diagnosed with a relapse of acute hemorrhagic tuberculosis and spent two months convalescing in the town’s hospital. He later described the incident as “meeting his majesty, the Angel of Death, face to face”, and claimed it as the catalyst for writing his autobiography, Funem yarid [From the Fair].[1] He thus missed the first Conference for the Yiddish Language, held in 1908 in Czernovitz; his colleague and fellow Yiddish activist Nathan Birnbaum went in his place.[7] Sholem Aleichem spent the next four years living as a semi-invalid. During this period the family was largely supported by donations from friends and admirers.

Sholem Aleichem moved to New York City again with his family in 1914. The family lived in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. His son, Misha, ill with tuberculosis, was not permitted entry under United States immigration laws and remained in Switzerland with his sister Emma.

Sholem Aleichem died in New York in 1916.

The Brodsky Synagogue

Brodsky Synagogue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brodsky Synagogue
Brodsky Synagogue.jpg
Basic information
Location UkraineKievUkraine
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism
Status Active
Architectural description
Architect(s) Georgiy Shleifer
Architectural style Romanesque Revival with elements of Moorish Revival
Completed 1898

The Brodsky Choral Synagogue is the largest synagogue in KievUkraine. It was built in the Romanesque Revival style resembling a classical basilica.[1] The original tripartite facade with a large central avant-corps flanked by lower wings also echoed the characteristic design of some Moorish Revival synagogues, such as the Leopoldstädter Tempel in Vienna.

History

The synagogue was built between 1897 and 1898. It was designed by Georgiy Shleifer. A sugar magnate and philanthropist Lazar Brodskyfinanced its construction.[2][3]

For many decades the local and imperial authorities forbade the construction of a monumental place of Jewish worship in Kiev, as they feared that this would facilitate the growth of the Jewish community in Kiev, which, being a big trading and industrial city, would then become an important Jewish religious center. This was considered “undesirable” due to the symbolic importance of Kiev, as the cradle of Russian Orthodoxy. It was only allowed to convert existing buildings into Jewish worship houses.

In 1895, permission was given to build a synagogue in the Podil district, a poor quarter of Kiev. The location was however too far from the city center where the wealthy Jews lived such that they could not walk there on Sabbath. They wished a big choral synagogue in the city center, similar to those in St. PetersburgMoscow and Odessa.[3]

To evade the ban, Brodsky and rabbi Evsey Tsukerman sent a complaint to the Governing Senate requesting a permission to build a worship house in the private estate of Brodsky. As an attachment they included only a side view drawing of the planned building which looked like a private mansion.[3][4][5][6] The permission was obtained, and the synagogue became an example of an Aesopian synagogue.

In 1926, the synagogue was closed down by the Soviet authorities. The building was converted into an artisan club.[5][7]

The building was devastated during the World War II by Nazis and was subsequently used as a puppet theatre.[5][3] An additional facade was built in the 1970s.

In 1997 the theatre moved into a new building. The old building was renovated and since 2000 it is again used as a synagogue.[2][5][6] The restoration was mainly financed by a media proprietor Vadim Rabinovich.[6] Currently it serves a Chabad-Lubavitch congregation.

End of the tour. Down to the Metro

Only half the day gone, now on to Podil

Podil

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

View of the modern Podil neighborhood.

Podil (UkrainianПоділ) is a historic neighborhood in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Kiev, and the birthplace of the city’s trade, commerce and industry. It contains many architectural and historical landmarks, and new archaeological sites are still being revealed. It is a part of the city’s larger administrative Podilskyi District.

Continued in the next post

Kiev ORT NKV#141 High School

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My first visit to Ukraine

 

Map of Kiev Ukraine
Kiev
Capital of Ukraine
Kiev is the capital city of Ukraine, bisected by the Dnieper River and known for its religious architecture, secular monuments and history museums. The 11th-century Kiev Pechersk Lavra is a monastery and pilgrimage site encompassing several gold-domed churches. It’s known for its catacombs lined with the burial chambers of Orthodox monks, and a collection of gold objects from ancient Scythian times.
Area839 km²
Elevation179 m
Population2.804 million (2013) UNdata
Kiev Pechersk Lavra
Kiev Pechersk Lavra
Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev
Saint Sophia’s Cathedral…
Maidan Nezalezhnosti
Maidan Nezalezhnosti
St Andrew's Church, Kiev
St Andrew’s Church, K…
Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II
Museum of The History of Ukrain…

 

My visit to this very impressive school
Thanks to David Benish, ORT regional director in the FSU and his assistant Mila Finkelshtein for organising my tour of the school. Thanks also to teacher Nataliia Lepatina for showing me around and introducing me some of the wonderful staff and students.

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Front

Nataliia shows me around

English teacher Marina Pysanets talks about Centropa

Independence Square  – Maidan Nezalezhnosti

Maidan Nezalezhnosti is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city’s main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchenko Raion. Wikipedia

 
 
 

 

 

Kiev ORT Educational Complex #141 (former ORT Technology Lyceum), Kiev

Kiev ORT Technology Lyceum and the ORT Technological Center in Kiev were opened as the result of cooperation between World ORT and the city’s educational authorities, with the help of generous support from Milton and Shirley Gralla, the Rita J. & Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation and Ron Baron. In 2015 ORT Technology Lyceum moved to the premises of the secondary school #141 and was fully reconstructed thanks to the generosity of World ORT donors and the cooperation of local authorities.  From September 1st, 2015 the Lyceum got the name “Kiev ORT Educational Complex #141”.

Name of School Kiev ORT Technology Lyceum
Location Kiev/Ukraine
Type ORT institution
Age range Junior High, High School, Adult education and training
Students 887
Teachers 85

Educational Activities and Competitions

Training at the Educational Complex will be provided in four stages: pre-school, 1st degree comprehensive school, 2nddegree specialized school with advanced study of foreign languages and information technologies and technological lyceum. Alongside the general education provided in accordance with the Ukrainian National Curriculum, the school specializes in two advanced tracks of study: Jewish education, technology education and English. Curricula for these tracks make use of modern computer technology, interdisciplinary study and project-based learning. In addition, students will be able to use ICT in the study of mathematics and humanities.

Students of the Complex actively participate in the work of the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine at the Kiev Centre of Creativity for children and young people. A large number of students have taken part in science conferences and have become the members of the Academy. The School has been selected to be a Pathfinder School as part of Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Innovative Schools Program.

The school participates in “Robotraffic” international competition in the modelling and controlling robocars which traditionally take place in the Robotics Leumi Center of the “Technion” Institute in Haifa (Israel). Robotics teams successfully participate and usually took the prizes at Festival-Competition of Robotics among students and teachers of ORT network schools in the CIS and Baltic States.

Jewish Education

The main goals of Jewish education at the School are strengthening the Jewish identity of the students and consolidating their ties with Israel.

Hebrew language is studied for three hours per week by students from the 1st to the 11th grade. The curriculum has traditionally followed the Heftsiba program, but in 2011-12 the new NETA program has been implemented in the 6th – 9th grade. The aim of the School’s Hebrew tuition is effective development of the students’ spoken language skills, so that they can communicate about a variety of topics.

Informal Jewish Education

This significant part of the Jewish studies curriculum consists of after school activities. Students learn how to prepare for and celebrate Jewish holidays – for example, organizing activities for their classmates and for younger students on Chanukah and Purim.  Students also participate in hadracha (leadership) training, Shabbatonim and “Masa Shorasim” – an experiential educational trip within the Ukraine on which students trace the Jewish history of the region through visiting places of both Jewish destruction and Jewish life.

Technology Education

This course runs in the 5th and 6th grades. Students learn “Modeling technology of simple structures and mechanisms” and “Technology of technological systems design” (study of the concept and principles of design, construction and performance of simple technological systems). The program of these courses was developed by the teachers of School and was approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Professional Training Courses

From 2006 the local branch of the prestigious Cisco Networking Academy began its operations, using the Lyceum as its base. It was the first time in Ukraine that school students could study on the “Cisco IT Essentials” course. The aim of the course is to give pupils detailed knowledge in the field of hardware support and network technologies. Pupils develop skills in repair of PCs and set-up of operational systems.

A number of courses are now given on the base of Cisco Academy: Get Connected, Internet of Everything, Be Your Own Boss, Entrepreneurship, Linux Essentials, IT Essential, CCNA, CCNA Security.

Grants

In 2007 the school became a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet). Member institutions work in support of international understanding, peace, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development and quality education.

In 2009 Hewlett Packard and World ORT opened a GET-IT (Graduate Entrepreneurship Training through IT) Centre on the school’s premises. As a result, one of the school’s classrooms was completely equipped with laptops and a variety of other facilities with the purpose of helping students to develop the skills for opening their own businesses after graduation.

Contributions to the National Education System

  • From 2005 ORT Technology Lyceum has the status of an experimental base for the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Its achievements in the field of ICT and up-to-date technical facilities are well-known, and the school shares its experience with educators from across the city.
  • A variety of seminars and workshops for teachers and principals from other schools are held at the School throughout the year. The school hosts a number of city and district Olympiads.
  • ORT Technology lyceum was “accredited with honour” in 2011 by the state authorities.
  • A lot of students and teachers of ORT Educational Complex annually become winners of city, regional, All-Ukrainian and International competitions and Olympiads.

 

Innovative School chosen by Microsoft

 

ORT Student in Kiev

The ORT Kiev Technology Lyceum in the Ukraine has been chosen by Microsoft to join its small, international group of innovative schools.

The ORT Kiev Technology Lyceum has become the only school in Ukraine to be chosen by Microsoft to join its small, exclusive international group of innovative Pathfinder Schools.

It was one of 56 schools selected from 114 applicants in 48 countries to join the Microsoft Partners in Learning Innovative Schools Program, a ten-year, $500 million commitment by the company to help schools and teachers use technology to advance teaching and learning more effectively.

“The fact that this Lyceum is the only school in Ukraine chosen for this role is further recognition of ORT’s leading position in education in that country,” said Shelley B. Fagel, National President of ORT America, whose American donors are committed to implementing innovative technologies and modern educational practices at ORT schools throughout the CIS and Baltic States.  “This is yet another prime example of how our donors’ dollars are helping to foster excellence, no matter how great the challenges.”

Despite ongoing funding challenges – which have resulted in teachers being poorly paid, the end to free hot lunches and school bus service – the ORT Kiev Technology Lyceum has consistently managed to raise its educational standards, increase student enrolment and retain skilled staff despite the lure of higher pay at the city’s other private schools.

Microsoft’s acceptance letter states:  “The ORT Kiev Technology Lyceum has demonstrated strong school leadership with a proven record of innovation and successful change implementation, and a vision for learning that has already started the school on the road to reform and improvement.”

Participating in this project will provide the school with the opportunity to share experience in the use of innovative technologies in education with other schools from around the world.

ORT Kiev’s first taste of Microsoft’s Innovative Schools Program will be at the Innovative Education Forum in Cape Town, South Africa next month. There, the school will work together with five other Pathfinder schools, two mentor schools and a third party coach, which will form the team in implementing the Pathfinder program.

Over the next 12 months, ORT Kiev will be able to access leading educators in fields relating to innovation and school transformation via Microsoft’s Virtual University training sessions. Additionally, ORT Kiev’s teachers will participate in on-going professional conversations through on-line forums, wikis, and blogs as well as in face-to-face meetings.

The school will be encouraged to work with others in the program to rethink all aspects of school life – from the structure of the day and the use of technology in the curriculum to ensuring that teachers have the space and time to bring innovative practices to the classroom.

The ORT Kiev school’s selection as a Microsoft Pathfinder School brings it shoulder-to-shoulder with the ORT de Gunzburg High School in St Petersburg, which last year became the sole Russian school to achieve this distinction.  Microsoft has already given ORT de Gunzburg its SharePoint software. Worth more than $10,000, the software allows users to consolidate intranet, extranet, and Internet sites on a single platform.

Bubbles – From Stellenbosch to Australia’s Top End

Bubbles – From Stellenbosch to Australia’s Top End

a new publication by Bubbles Segall

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Bubbles Segall was born in South Africa and moved to Australia in 1974.
She moved to the Northern Territory in 1976 where she worked for thirty-three years as a midwife, as a Community Health Nurse and as a Community Development Officer in Darwin and in remote Aboriginal communities.

“This autobiography of Bubbles tells the story of her journey from Cape Town to the Northern Territory of Australia, which more than lived up to the enchantment she held in her childhood.”

This is her story.

From Bubbles:

After many months of slaving over my laptop, I have finally finished a book about my life.

The title: Bubbles. From Stellenbosch to Australia’s Top End.

To celebrate, I had a launch at our favourite Irish pub on Sunday 26 July 2016 with somewhere between 60 and 70 people friends and family.

To order copies go to the website http://www.underthesun.net.au/

Click on Buy Books

Scroll down to Quick Links (listed by author’s surname).

Click on S-Z and find my book
Love from  Bubbles Segall” bubblessegall@gmail.com

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Return to Vilnius June 2016

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Map of Kaišiadorys Lithuania
Kaišiadorys
City in Lithuania
Kaišiadorys is a city in central Lithuania. It is situated between Vilnius and Kaunas. Kaišiadorys is one of six Lithuanian diocese centres. It is home to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Christ built in 1932.

History

The city expanded when a railroad connecting Vilnius with Liepāja was built in 1871. During the First World War, the city was occupied by the Germans in 1915, and it became the capital of an administrative unit for the first time. In 1919 the first train departed from Kaišiadorys to Radviliškis. When Trakai and the rest of the Vilnius Region became part of Poland, Kaišiadorys became the temporary capital of the Trakai Apskritis.

On August, 1941, the Jewish population of the town and surroundings was murdered in mass executions perpetrated by an Einsatzgruppen of Germans and Lithuanian nationalists.[1][2]Wikipedia

The Kaisiadorys KehilaLink. Click here

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Kaisiadorys

 

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With Karina Simonson

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Karina Simonson is doing her PhD on Eli Weinberg and Leon Levson, two Litvak photographers who moved to South Africa. More info on these two photographers:

http://www.ken-art.com/blog/post/41/african-photography-documentary-part-2

If anyone has more info on these two photographers, please comment.

Back at the Choral Synagogue

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Along the Neris River at dusk

Neris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neris (About this sound pronunciation BelarusianВі́лія ViliyaPolishWilia) is a river rising in Belarus. It flows through Vilnius (Lithuania) and becomes a tributary of the Neman River (Nemunas) at Kaunas (Lithuania). Its length is 510 km (320 mi).

For 276 km (171 mi)[1] the river runs through Belarus, where it is called Viliya, and 235 km (146 mi) runs through Lithuania, where it is called Neris.

The Neris connects two old Lithuanian capitals – Kernavė and Vilnius. Along its banks are burial places of the pagan Lithuanians. At 25 km (16 mi) from Vilnius are the old burial mounds of Karmazinai, with many mythological stones and a sacred oak.

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