Anatevka () is a Ukrainian refugee

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

that provides food, housing, education, and medical support for refugees of the 2014 Russian invasion and the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. The village was established in 2015 and currently houses hundreds of families. The village was established by Harav Moshe Reuven Azman, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine and Kyiv. The village is located on the outskirts of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, near the village of Bilohorodka.

History

Establishment

In 2014, Ukraine was invaded by Russia. In response to the invasion, which displaced tens of thousands of people (including thousands of Jews), Anatevka was established on a plot of empty land, near Kyiv. The project was overseen by Chief Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, leaders in both America and Ukraine, and Chaim Klimovitsky. The name was inspired by the famous fictional

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

of Anatevka from the 1964 Broadway musical ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'' (which, in turn, was based on a cycle of short stories by Ukraine-born Jewish writer

Sholem Aleichem Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich (; May 13, 1916), better known under his pen name Sholem Aleichem (Yiddish language, Yiddish and , also spelled in Yiddish orthography#Reform and standardization, Soviet Yiddish, ; Russian language, Russian and ), ...

). The village was created in order to serve as a safe community for refugees, offering them housing in furbished apartments, access to a Jewish education system, healthcare and mental health support, and community events. Over the ensuing years, the village grew to include apartments which housed refugee families. The community also came to include a kindergarten, a first through tenth grade school (called Mitzvah 613), a ''Cheder'' (a traditional Jewish elementary school), a soccer field, a playground, a kosher hotel, and other Jewish infrastructure including a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

and a

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

Refugees gather in the Anatevka Refugee Village

2022 Russian invasion

In response to the Russian invasion in 2022, given Anatevka’s strategic position away from Russian attack targets, the village quickly became a staging ground and operational headquarters for humanitarian efforts. Many refugees were evacuated through Anatevka, stopping there for a warm meal or immediate medical care before continuing on to the Moldovan border. The Ceremonial Building of Anatevka

Infrastructure

Anatevka supports a wide range of infrastructure. There are close to a hundred apartments in the village that house refugee families. There is also a kosher hotel which hosts tourists. There is also a mikveh, a synagogue, and a community center. Football Field in Anatevka

Education

Anatevka includes a Jewish education system. The educational system includes the Mitzvah 613 school, a girls' school, a ''Cheder'' which provides Jewish elementary education, a woodworking shop, a football field, and a playground. The educational system includes over 200 students and is one of the only Jewish schools in the surrounding area. Many students travel cross-country to attend the school. Since the 2022 war, the school system has operated online due to the lack of funding necessary to build a bomb shelter.

References

{{reflist Organizations established in 2015 2015 establishments in Ukraine Organizations based in Ukraine Villages in Bucha Raion