The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years;
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
communities have existed in the modern territory of
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
from the time of the
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,.
* was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
(late 9th to mid-13th century). Important Jewish religious and cultural movements, from
Hasidism
Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...
to
Zionism
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
, arose there. According to the
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...
, the Jewish community in Ukraine is Europe's fourth largest and the world's 11th largest.Ukraine
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...
.
The presence of Jews in Ukrainian territory is first mentioned in the 10th century. At times Jewish life in Ukrainian lands flourished, while at other times it faced
persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
between 1648 and 1657, an army of
Cossacks
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
massacred and took large numbers of Jews,
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, and Uniate Christians into captivity. One estimate (1996) reported that 15,000-30,000 Jews were killed or taken captive, and that 300 Jewish communities were completely destroyed.
Paul Magocsi
Paul Robert Magocsi (; born January 26, 1945) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980 and became a Fellow of the Royal Society ...
, ''A History of Ukraine'', p. 350.
University of Washington Press
The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, it has worked to assist the university' ...
, 1996. More recent estimates (2014) report mortality of 3,000-6,000 people between the years 1648–1649.
During 1821 anti-Jewish riots in
Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
followed the death of the
Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
Patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...
in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, in which 14 Jews were recorded killed. Some sources claim this episode as the first
pogrom
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
. At the start of the 20th century, anti-Jewish pogroms continued, leading to large-scale emigration. In 1915, the imperial Russian government expelled thousands of Jews from the Empire's border areas, including parts of Ukraine.
In the
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...
(1917–1920),
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
became a state language, along with Ukrainian and Russian. At that time, the Jewish National Union was created and the community was granted autonomous status. Yiddish was used on Ukrainian currency between 1917 and 1920. Nevertheless, between 1918 and 1920 in the period after the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
and ensuing
Ukrainian War of Independence
The Ukrainian War of Independence, also referred to as the Ukrainian–Soviet War in Ukraine, lasted from March 1917 to November 1921 and was part of the wider Russian Civil War. It saw the establishment and development of an independent Ukr ...
Symon Petliura
Symon Vasyliovych Petliura (; – 25 May 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a pa ...
. Pogroms erupted in January 1919 in the northwest province of
Volhynia
Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...
and spread to many other regions, continuing until 1921. The actions of the
Soviet government
The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...
by 1927 led to a growing antisemitism.Сергійчук, В. Український Крим К. 2001, p.156
Before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, slightly less than one-third of Ukraine's urban population consisted of Jews. Total civilian losses in Ukraine during World War II and the
German occupation
German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
are estimated at seven million. More than one million Soviet Jews, including 225,000 in
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
, were killed by the
Einsatzgruppen
(, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imp ...
and their many Ukrainian supporters. Most of them were killed in Ukraine because most pre-WWII Soviet Jews lived in the
Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...
, of which Ukraine was the biggest part. The major massacres against Jews occurred mainly in the first phase of the occupation, although they continued until the return of the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
.
In 1959 Ukraine had 840,000 Jews, a decrease of almost 70% from 1941 totals (within Ukraine's current borders). Ukraine's Jewish population continued to decline significantly during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. In 1989, Ukraine's Jewish population was only slightly more than half of what it was in 1959. During and after the
collapse of communism
The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...
in the 1990s, the majority of Jews left the country and moved abroad (mostly to Israel). Antisemitism, including violent attacks on Jews, was still a problem in Ukraine in 2012, according to UN report. The country's current president,
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
, is Jewish.
Medieval and Early Modern era
Kyivan Rus
The presence of a Jewish community in the territory of modern-day Ukraine is first mentioned in the Kievan Letter, which was composed in the 10th century and became the first written mention of the Ukrainian capital. The document is especially valuable because mentiones the names of members of the city's Jewish community, some of them of obvious
Slavic
Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to:
Peoples
* Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia
** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples
** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples
** West Slav ...
Byzantine Jews
Jews were numerous and had significant roles throughout the history of the Byzantine Empire.
Background and legal standing
After the decline of the Greek-speaking Hellenistic Judaism in ancient times, the use of the Greek language and the inte ...
of
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
had familial, cultural, and theological ties with the Jews 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, ...
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
or Constantinople. One of the three Kyivan city gates in the times of
Yaroslav the Wise
Yaroslav I Vladimirovich ( 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, ...
was called Zhydovski (Jewish).
Popular dissatisfaction with the influence of Jewish financiers was claimed by chronicles to be one of the causes of a popular uprising, which engulfed Kyiv in 1113 after the death of prince Sviatopolk Iziaslavich. The rebels plundered the houses of Kyiv's Jews, who were accused by them of
usury
Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in e ...
.
In Galicia, Jews were mentioned for the first time in 1030. From the second part of the 14th century, they were subjects of
Polish kings
Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
and
magnate
The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
s.
Polish-Lithuanian rule
Founded in 1569, the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
became one of the most diverse countries in Europe. Massive settlement of Jews in lands under Polish rule started in the 14th century in the aftermath of the adoption of the
Statute of Kalisz
The General Charter of Jewish rights known as the Statute of Kalisz, and the Kalisz Privilege, granted Jews in the Middle Ages some protection against discrimination in Poland compared to other places in Europe. These rights included exclusive ...
. As a result, the kingdom became home to one of the world's largest and most vibrant Jewish communities. Jewish settlement also began in nearby
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, which controlled many lands of today's Ukraine during that time.
The Jewish community became one of the largest and most important ethnic minority groups in the territory of Ukraine during the Commonwealth era. Jews constituted 3 to 5% of the entire population of the Commonwealth, but in cities their share reached up to 20%. Many Jews worked as traders, but some also managed the estates of noble landowners (
szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...
), which made them especially unpopular among Ukrainian peasants. Unlike the rest of the population, Jews spoke their own language -
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
, and governed themselves through autonomous communities, whose leaders were elected in a democratic manner. On the other hand, many elements of Jewish culture, such as folk beliefs, clothing and architecture (e.g. the construction technology of
wooden synagogues
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that ...
) were shared with the Christian majority. The supreme representative organ of Jews in the Commonwealth, including Ukrainian lands, was the
Council of Four Lands
The Council of Four Lands (, ''Va'ad Arba' Aratzot'', ) was the central body of Jewish authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the second half of the 16th century to 1764, located in Lublin. The Council's first law is recorded as h ...
, which included members of Jewish communities from
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland.
The bound ...
,
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
,
Volhynia
Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...
and
Podolia
Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria).
Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
.
Modern era
Khmelnytsky Uprising
In 1648-1657 Ukrainian
Cossack
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
Hetman
''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky of the Abdank coat of arms (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern , Polish language, Polish: ; 15956 August 1657) was a Ruthenian nobility, Ruthenian noble ...
led a
Cossack
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
and peasant rebellion, known as
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
, during which Jews were targeted for their role as managers of noble estates, which was seen as oppression of
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
population on behalf of
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
. It is estimated that at that time the Jewish population in Ukraine numbered 51,325. As a result, hundreds of Jewish communities were destroyed by the rebels, and tens of thousands of Jews were killed or sold as
slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
.
Historians consider the massacres under Khmelnytsky to have been the bloodiest episode of anti-Jewish violence until the 20th century. A 1996 estimate reported that 15,000-30,000 Jews were killed or taken captive, and that 300 Jewish communities were destroyed. A 2014 estimate reduced the toll to 3,000-6,000 from 1648 to 1649; of these, 3,000-6,000 Jews were killed by Cossacks in
Nemyriv
Nemyriv ( ; ) is a historic city in Vinnytsia Oblast (province) in Ukraine, located in the historical region of Podolia. It was the administrative center of former Nemyriv Raion (district). Population:
Nemyriv is one of the oldest cities in Vin ...
in May 1648 and 1,500 in
Tulczyn
Tulchyn (, ; ; ; ; ; ) is a city in Vinnytsia Oblast (Oblast, province) of western Ukraine, in the historical region of Podolia. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Tulchyn Raion (Raion, district). Its population is 13,896 (2023 estim ...
in July 1648. Among contemporary Jews the effect of Khmelnytsky Uprising was compared to the destruction of the
First
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
and
Second Temple
The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...
s. As a result of the massacres, many Jews from Ukraine moved to western regions of Poland, or emigrated to German lands,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
.
Rise of Hasidism and internal struggles
The Cossack Uprising and following massacres left a deep and lasting impression on Jewish social and spiritual life and led to the rise in popularity of
Jewish mysticism
Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), draws distinctions between different forms of mysticism which were practiced in different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbal ...
including
Kabbalah
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...
. The 1648 events in Ukraine played a role in the development of a number of
messianic
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach' ...
movements in Judaism, such as the sect of
Sabbatai Zevi
Sabbatai Zevi (, August 1, 1626 – ) was an Ottoman Jewish mystic and ordained rabbi from Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey). His family were Romaniote Jews from Patras. His two names, ''Shabbethay'' and ''Ṣebi'', mean Saturn and mountain gazelle, ...
. These movements opposed traditional rabbinism and put an emphasis on magical healing practices,
amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...
s and physical activity such as singing, dancing and prayer.
The teachings of
Israel ben Eliezer
Israel ben Eliezer (According to a forged document from the "Kherson Geniza", accepted only by Chabad, he was born in October 1698. Some Hasidic traditions place his birth as early as 1690, while Simon Dubnow and other modern scholars argue for ...
, better known as the ''Baal Shem Tov'', or ''BeShT'' (1698–1760), who lived in the Ukrainian town of
Medzhybizh
Medzhybizh (; ; ; ), formerly Mezhybozhe, is a Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in Khmelnytskyi Raion, 25 kilometres from Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi o ...
, produced a massive religious movement which had a profound effect on Eastern European Jews. Known as Hasidism, it influenced
Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...
, with a continuous influence through many
Hasidic dynasties
A Hasidic dynasty or Chassidic dynasty is a dynasty led by Hasidic Jewish spiritual leaders known as rebbes, and usually has some or all of the following characteristics:
* Each leader of the dynasty is referred to as an ''ADMOR'' (abbreviation ...
. The emergence of Hasidism with its specific rules and rites produced a strong opposition from traditional
Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...
Jewish circles. As a result of a split between Hasidic Jewish communities and their opponents ( ''Mitnagdim'') in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a teritorial division emerged, with Hasidic rites dominating among poorer and less educated Jews in Volhynia, Podolia, Galicia and Hungarian-ruled territories of modern-day Ukraine.
A different movement was started by
Jacob Frank
Jacob Joseph Frank (; Yiddish: יעקבֿ פֿראַנק; ; born Jakub Lejbowicz; 1726 – 10 December 1791) was a Polish-Jewish religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676) ...
in the middle of the 18th century. Frank's teachings were unorthodox (such as purification through transgression and adoption of elements of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
) and were supported by part of the Catholic clergy, including the bishop of
Kamieniec Podolski
Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...
, which led to his excommunication along with his numerous followers. In 1759 Frank and his supporters converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in
Lemberg
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
. As a result, a group of up to 20,000 Jewish converts emerged, who gradually assimilated with Christians, but preserved some peculiar traditions. In 1817 Frankists were officially recognized as Catholics by the Russian imperial government.
Russian Empire and Austrian rule
The traditional measures used to keep the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
free of Jews were hindered when the main territory of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was annexed during the
partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...
. During the second (1793) and the third (1795) partitions, large populations of Jews were absorbed by the Russian Empire, and
Catherine the Great
Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
established the
Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...
that included
Congress Poland
Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
and
Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
.
During 1821 anti-Jewish riots in
Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
after the death of the
Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
patriarch in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, 14 Jews were killed. Some sources mark this episode as the first
pogrom
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
, while according to others (such as the ''
Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...
'', 1911 ed.) say the first pogrom was an 1859 riot in Odesa. The term became common after a wave of anti-Jewish violence swept the southern Russian Empire (including Ukraine) between 1881 and 1884, after Jews were blamed for the assassination of Alexander II.
In May 1882,
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the libera ...
introduced temporary regulations called ''May Laws'' that remained in effect until 1917. Systematic policies of discrimination, strict
quotas Quota may refer to: Economics
* Import quota, a restriction on the quantity of goods that can be imported into a country
* Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture
* Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe
* ...
on the number of Jews allowed to obtain education and professions caused widespread poverty and mass emigration. In 1886, an
edict of Expulsion
The Edict of Expulsion was a royal decree expelling all Jews from the Kingdom of England that was issued by Edward I of England, Edward I on 18 July 1290; it was the first time a European state is known to have permanently banned their prese ...
was applied to Jews in
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, ...
. In 1893–1894, some areas of Crimea were removed from the Pale.
When Alexander III died in Crimea on 20 October 1894, according to
Simon Dubnow
Simon Dubnow (alternatively spelled Dubnov; ; rus, Семён Ма́ркович Ду́бнов, Semyon Markovich Dubnov, sʲɪˈmʲɵn ˈmarkəvʲɪdʑ ˈdubnəf; 10 September 1860 – 8 December 1941) was a Jewish-Russian Empire, Russian h ...
: "as the body of the deceased was carried by railway to
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, the same rails were carrying the Jewish exiles from
Yalta
Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...
to the Pale. The reign of Alexander III began with pogroms and concluded with expulsions."
Odesa became the home of a large Jewish community during the 19th century, and by 1897 Jews were estimated to account for some 37% of the population.
The Jewish population of Galicia and
Bukovina
Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
, part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, made up 5% of the global Jewish population.
Political activism and emigration
Jews were over-represented in the Russian revolutionary leadership. However, most were hostile to
Jewish culture
Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not simply a faith-based religion, but an orthopraxy and Ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, ...
and Jewish political parties, and were loyal to the Communist Party's
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
and
proletarian internationalism
Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all proletarian revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory th ...
, and committed to stamping out any sign of "Jewish cultural particularism".
Counter-revolutionary
A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...
groups, including the
Black Hundreds
The Black Hundreds were reactionary, monarchist, and ultra-nationalist groups in Russia in the early 20th century. They were staunch supporters of the House of Romanov, and opposed any retreat from the autocracy of the reigning monarch. Their na ...
, opposed the Revolution with violent attacks on socialists and pogroms against Jews. A backlash came from the conservative elements of society, notably in spasmodic anti-Jewish attacks – around five hundred were killed in a single day in Odesa.
Nicholas II
Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...
claimed that 90% of revolutionaries were Jews.
Early 20th century
Before WW1
At the start of the 20th century, anti-Jewish pogroms continued to occur in cities and towns across the Russian Empire such as Kishinev,
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, ...
,
Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
, and many others. Numerous Jewish self-defense groups were organized to prevent the outbreak of pogroms among which the most successful one was under the leadership of
Mishka Yaponchik
Mishka Yaponchik (born Moisei Wolfovich Vinnitsky; 30 October 1891 – 29 July 1919) was an Odessa gangster, Jewish revolutionary, and a Soviet military leader.
Early years
Moisey Volfovich Vinnitsky was born into the family of a Jewish w ...
in Odesa.
In 1905, a series of pogroms erupted at the same time as the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
against the government of Nicholas II. The chief organizers of the pogroms were the members of the
Union of the Russian People
The Union of the Russian People (URP) (; СРН/SRN) was a royalist, loyalist Far-right politics, far-right Nationalism, nationalist political party, the most important among Black Hundreds, Black-Hundredist Monarchism, monarchist political organ ...
(commonly known as the "
Black Hundreds
The Black Hundreds were reactionary, monarchist, and ultra-nationalist groups in Russia in the early 20th century. They were staunch supporters of the House of Romanov, and opposed any retreat from the autocracy of the reigning monarch. Their na ...
").
From 1911 to 1913, the
antisemitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
tenor of the period was characterized by a number of
blood libel
Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mu ...
cases (accusations of Jews murdering Christians for ritual purposes). One of the most famous was the two-year trial of
Menahem Mendel Beilis
Menahem Mendel Beilis (1874 – July 7, 1934; sometimes spelled Beiliss) was a Russian Jews, Russian Jew accused of Blood libel, ritual murder in Kiev in a notorious 1913 trial, known as the "Beilis trial" or the "Beilis affair". Although Beilis w ...
, a Jew from Kyiv, who was charged with the murder of a Christian boy. The trial was showcased by the authorities to illustrate the perfidy of the Jewish population.
In 1912-1914, S. An-sky led the
Jewish Ethnographic Expedition
The Jewish Ethnographic Expedition (1912–1914) was a project to document and preserve the traditional Jewish culture of the Pale of Settlement, a region in the Russian Empire where Jews were legally restricted to live. Led by the writer and socia ...
to the Pale, which visited around 70 shtetls in Volyn, Podolia, and Galicia (all in modern Ukraine) gathering folk stories, artifacts, recording music, and making photos, as an attempt to preserve and salvage traditional Ashkenazim culture that was vanishing because of modernization, pogroms, and emigration.
From March to May 1915, in the face of the German army, the government expelled thousands of Jews from the Empire's border areas, mainly the Pale of Settlement.
Ukrainian People's Republic
After the establishment of the
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...
(UPR, 1917–1921) in the aftermath of the
February Revolution
The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...
,
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
was recognized as one of its official languages, while all government institutions had Jewish members. A Ministry for Jewish Affairs was established (Ukraine was the first modern state to do so) and rights of Jewish culture were guaranteed. However, Jewish deputies abstained or voted against the
Tsentralna Rada
The Central Rada of Ukraine, also called the Central Council (), was the All-Ukrainian council that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputies as well as few members of political, public, cultural and professional organizations o ...
's Fourth Universal of 25 January 1918 which was aimed at breaking ties with
Bolshevik Russia
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
and proclaiming a sovereign Ukrainian state, since all Jewish parties were strongly against Ukrainian independence.
During the ensuing
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
, an estimated 70,000 to 250,000 Jewish civilians were killed in atrocities throughout the former Russian Empire. In modern Ukraine an estimated 31,071 died in 1918–1920. Other estimates give the number of civilian Jews killed during the period as 35,000 to 50,000. Archives declassified after 1991 provide evidence of a higher number; in the period from 1918 to 1921, "according to incomplete data, at least 100,000 Jews were killed in Ukraine in the pogroms." The Ukrainian People's Republic did issue orders condemning pogroms and attempted to investigate them, but it lacked authority to stop the violence. In the last months of its existence the state lacked any power to create social stability.
Among the prominent Ukrainian Jewish statesmen of this period were
Moisei Rafes
Moisei Rafes (3 November 1883 – 1942) was a prominent Jewish politician of the Ukrainian People's Republic as the Bundist representative. After 1919 he was an official of the Bolshevik Party until the rise of Joseph Stalin, when he was impri ...
, Pinkhas Krasny, Abram Revutsky, Moishe Zilberfarb, and many others. (see
General Secretariat of Ukraine
The General Secretariat of Ukraine () was the autonomous Ukrainian executive government of the Russian Republic from June 28, 1917, to January 22, 1918. For most of its existence it was headed by Volodymyr Vynnychenko.
The secretariat was cre ...
) The autonomy of Ukraine was openly greeted by
Volodymyr Zhabotinsky
Ze'ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky; 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940) was a Russian-born author, poet, orator, soldier, and founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement and the Jewish Self-Defense Organization in Od ...
, himself a native of Ukraine.
Between April and December 1918 the Ukrainian People's Republic was non-existent and overthrown by the
Ukrainian State
The Ukrainian State (), sometimes also called the Second Cossack Hetmanate, Hetmanate (), was an Anti-communism, anti-Bolshevik government that existed on most of the modern territory of Ukraine (except for Western Ukraine) from 29 April to 14 ...
of
Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi (; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, who served as the hetman of the Ukrainian State throughout 1918 following a coup d'état in April 29 of the same year.
Born the son of a n ...
, who ended the experiment in Jewish autonomy.
Provisional Government of Russia and Soviets
The February 1917 revolution brought a liberal
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
to power in the Russian Empire. On 21 March/3 April, the government removed all "discrimination based upon ethnic religious or social grounds".Korey 1978, 90. The Pale was officially abolished. The removal of the restrictions on Jews' geographical mobility and educational opportunities led to a migration to the country's major cities.
One week after the 25 October / 7 November 1917
Bolshevik Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...
, the new government proclaimed the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples ationsof Russia," promising all nationalities the rights of equality, self-determination and secession. Jews were not specifically mentioned in the declaration, reflecting Lenin's view that Jews did not constitute a nation.
In 1918, the
RSFSR Council of Ministers
The Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was the government of Soviet Russia between 1917 and 1946. It was established by the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasant ...
issued a decree entitled "On the Separation of Church from State and School from Church", depriving religious communities of the status of juridical persons, the right to own property and the right to enter into contracts. The decree nationalized the property of religious communities and banned their assessment of religious tuition. As a result, religion could be taught or studied only in private.
On 1 February 1918 the Commissariat for Jewish National Affairs was established as a subsection of the Commissariat for Nationality Affairs. It was mandated to establish the "dictatorship of the proletariat in the Jewish streets" and attract the Jewish masses to the regime while advising local and central institutions on Jewish issues. The Commissariat was also expected to fight the influence of
Zionist
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
and Jewish-Socialist Parties. On 27 July 1918 the Council of People's Commissars issued a decree stating that antisemitism is "fatal to the cause of the ... revolution". Pogroms were officially outlawed. On 20 October 1918 the Jewish section of the CPSU (
Yevsektsia
A Yevsektsiya ( rus, евсекция, p=jɪfˈsʲektsɨjə; ) was the ethnically Jewish section of the Soviet Communist Party and its main institutions. These sections were established in fall of 1918 with consent of Vladimir Lenin to carry Part ...
) was established for the Party's Jewish members; its goals were similar to those of the Jewish Commissariat.Survey January 1968, 77–81.
During the Hryhoriv Uprising in May 1919, almost 3000 Jews of Yelisavetgrad (today
Kropyvnytskyi
Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul, Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population:
Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement ...
) were murdered and their property stolen during a mutiny of
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
troops.
The White Army and counterrevolutionary pogroms
In contrast with the Bolshevik government's official policy of equality among citizens, antisemitism remained deeply entrenched in the political and social ideologies of the tsarist counterrevolutionaries, especially among paramilitary groups such as the
Black Hundreds
The Black Hundreds were reactionary, monarchist, and ultra-nationalist groups in Russia in the early 20th century. They were staunch supporters of the House of Romanov, and opposed any retreat from the autocracy of the reigning monarch. Their na ...
. These militias incited and organized pogroms against Russian Jews. The official slogan of the Black Hundreds was "Bei Zhidov," meaning 'Beat the Jews.' Thus, during the
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
that followed the
1917 Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a civil war. It ...
, the Jews became a crucial site of the conflict between revolutionary
Reds
Reds may refer to:
General
* Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism
* ''Reds'' (film), a 1981 American film starring and directed by Warren Beatty
* Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists duri ...
and counterrevolutionary
Whites
White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view.
De ...
, particularly in the contested territory of Ukraine. The Bolsheviks' official opposition to antisemitism—coupled with the prominence of Jews such as
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
within the Bolshevik ranks—allowed the Christian nationalist movements of both the
White Army
The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...
and the emergent
Ukrainian National Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 as a result of the February Revolution, and in June, it declared Ukrainian ...
to link Ukrainian Jews to the despised communism. These connections, combined with the cultural tradition of antisemitism among Russian peasantry, provided ample justification for the Whites to attack Ukraine's Jewish population. Between 1918 and 1921, almost all of the approximately 2,000 pogroms carried out in Ukraine were organized by White Army forces. eyewitnesses reported hearing counterrevolutionary militia members expound slogans such as, "We beat the Yids, we beat the Commune", and "This is the answer to the Bolsheviks for the
Red Terror
The Red Terror () was a campaign of political repression and Mass killing, executions in Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia which was carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police ...
." Recent studies hold that about 30,000 Jews were killed in these pogroms, while another 150,000 died from wounds sustained during the violence.
Galician Jews
Galician Jews or Galitzianers () are members of the subgroup of Ashkenazim, Ashkenazi Jews originating and developed in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and Bukovina from contemporary western Ukraine (Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblas ...
were suspected by many Poles to have collaborated with forces of the
West Ukrainian People's Republic
The West Ukrainian People's Republic (; West Ukrainian People's Republic#Name, see other names) was a short-lived state that controlled most of Eastern Galicia from November 1918 to July 1919. It included major cities of Lviv, Ternopil, Kolom ...
. As a result, after Polish troops entered Lviv on 22 November 1918 a
pogrom
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
was perpetrated by Poles in the city's Jewish quarter, killing at least 75 inhabitants, although higher estimates also exist. The event caused indignation in global press. After the pogrom Polish military command accused Lviv's Jews of not restraining their compatriots and threatened with catastrophic circumstances in case of their opposition to Polish authorities.
In the territory controlled by Ukrainian forces pogroms erupted in January 1919 in the northwest province of
Volhynia
Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...
and spread during February and March to the cities, towns, and villages of many other regions of Ukraine. After
Sarny
Sarny (, ) is a small city in Rivne Oblast, western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Sarny Raion within the oblast and is a major railway node on the Sluch River. Population:
Etymology
The city is named after the roe deer and can ...
it was the turn of
Ovruch
Ovruch (, ) is a city in Korosten Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine, first mentioned as Vruchiy in 977. It was the capital city of the Drevlians in the 900s, later conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, then later part of the Grand D ...
, northwest of Kyiv. In
Tetiev
Tetiiv (, ) or Tetiyev () is a city in Bila Tserkva Raion in the Kyiv Region in Ukraine. Tetiiv has a railway station on the Southwestern Railways Koziatyn - Zhashkiv line. It hosts the administration of Tetiiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas ...
on 25 March, approximately 4,000 Jews were murdered, half in a synagogue set ablaze by Cossack troops under Colonels Kurovsky, Cherkowsy, and Shliatoshenko. Then Vashilkov (6 and 7 April). originally in Yiddish, YIVO Institute, 1965; ''The Berdichev Revival'' In Dubovo (17 June) 800 Jews were decapitated in assembly-line fashion. According to David A. Chapin, the town of Proskurov (now Khmelnitsky), near the city of
Sudilkov
Sudylkiv ( Ukrainian: Судилків) is a village in Shepetivka Raion in Khmelnytskyi Oblast in Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sudylkiv rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine.
History
The 1897 census reveals that out of a to ...
, "was the site of the worst atrocity committed against Jews this century before the Nazis." Pogroms continued until 1921.
Pogroms across Podolia
On 15 February 1919, during the Ukrainian-Soviet war,
Otaman
Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukrai ...
Proskurov
Khmelnytskyi (, ) is a city in western Ukraine. Located on the Southern Bug, it serves as the administrative centre of Khmelnytskyi Oblast as well as Khmelnytskyi Raion within the oblast. With a population of Khmelnytskyi is the second-largest ...
in which many Jews were massacred on
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
( parashah Tesaveh). Semesenko claimed that the pogrom was in retaliation for a previous Bolshevik uprising that he believed was led by Jews.
According to the ''pinqasim'' record books those murdered in the pogrom included 390 men, 309 women and 76 children. The number of wounded exceeded 500. Two weeks later Order 131 was published in the central newspaper by the head of
Directorate of Ukraine
The Directorate, or Directory () was a provisional collegiate revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian People's Republic, initially formed on 13–14 November 1918 during a session of the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against th ...
. In it
Symon Petliura
Symon Vasyliovych Petliura (; – 25 May 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a pa ...
denounced such actions and eventually executed Otaman Semesenko by firing-squad in 1920. Semesenko's brigade was disarmed and dissolved. This event is especially remarkable because it was used to justify
Sholem Schwarzbard
Samuel "Sholem" Schwarzbard (; ; ; 18 August 1886 – 3 March 1938) was a Russian-French Yiddish poet. He served in the French and Soviet military, was a communist and anarchist, and is known for organising Jewish community defense against pog ...
's assassination of the Ukrainian leader in 1926. Although Petliura's direct involvement was never proven, Schwartzbard was acquitted in revenge. The series of Jewish pogroms around Ukraine culminated in the Kyiv pogroms of 1919 between June and October of that year.
Interwar era
Consolidation of Soviet power
In July 1919, the Central Jewish Commissariat dissolved the ''kehillot'' (Jewish Communal Councils). The ''kehillot'' had provided social services to the Jewish community.
From 1919 to 1920, Jewish parties and Zionist organizations were driven underground as the Communist government sought to abolish all potential opposition. The
Yevsektsiya
A Yevsektsiya ( rus, евсекция, p=jɪfˈsʲektsɨjə; ) was the ethnically Jewish section of the Soviet Communist Party and its main institutions. These sections were established in fall of 1918 with consent of Vladimir Lenin to carry Part ...
Jewish section of the Soviet Communist party was at the forefront of the anti-religious campaigns of the 1920s that led to the closing of religious institutions, the break-up of religious communities and the further restriction of access to religious education. To that end a series of "community trials" against the Jewish religion were held. The last known such trial, on the subject of circumcision, was held in 1928 in
Kharkiv
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
. At the same time, the body worked to establish a secular identity for the Jewish community.
In 1921 many Jews emigrated to Poland, as they were entitled by a peace treaty in
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
to choose the country they preferred. Several hundred thousand joined the already numerous Jewish minority of the
Polish Second Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I. ...
. Also, during the interwar period, thousands of Jewish refugees from the
Soviet Ukraine
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Under the Soviet one-party m ...
migrated to Romania.
On 31 January 1924 the Commissariat for Nationalities' Affairs was disbanded. On 29 August 1924 an official agency for Jewish resettlement, the Commission for the Settlement of Jewish Toilers on the Land (
KOMZET
Komzet (, ) was the ''Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land'' (some English sources use the word "working" instead of "toiling") in the Soviet Union. The primary goal of the Komzet was to provide work for the unemployed agricult ...
), was established. KOMZET studied, managed and funded projects for Jewish resettlement in rural areas. A public organization, the Society for the Agricultural Organization of Working Class Jews in the USSR (
), was created in January 1925 to help recruit colonists and support the colonization work of KOMZET. For the first few years the government encouraged Jewish settlements, particularly in Ukraine. Support for the project dwindled throughout the next decade. In 1938 OZET was disbanded, following years of declining activity. The Soviets set up three Jewish national ''raions'' in Ukraine as well as two in the Crimea – national ''raions'' occupied the 3rd level of the Soviet system, but were all disbanded by the end of World War II.
The cities with the largest populations of Jews in 1926 were Odesa, 154,000 or 36.5% of the total population; Kyiv, 140,500 or 27.3%; Kharkiv, 81,500 or 19.5%; and
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
, 62,000 or 26.7%. In 1931
Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
's Jewish population numbered 98,000 or 31.9%, and in
Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...
, 42,600 or 37.9%.
On 8 April 1929 the new Law on Religious Associations codified all previous religious legislation. All meetings of religious associations were required to have their agenda approved in advance; lists of members of religious associations had to be provided to the authorities. In 1930 the
Yevsektsia
A Yevsektsiya ( rus, евсекция, p=jɪfˈsʲektsɨjə; ) was the ethnically Jewish section of the Soviet Communist Party and its main institutions. These sections were established in fall of 1918 with consent of Vladimir Lenin to carry Part ...
was dissolved, leaving no central Soviet-Jewish organization. Although the body had served to undermine Jewish religious life, its dissolution led to the disintegration of Jewish secular life as well; Jewish cultural and educational organizations gradually disappeared. When the Soviet government reintroduced the use of internal passports in 1933, "Jewish" was considered an ethnicity for those purposes.
The
Soviet famine of 1932–1933
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
affected the Jewish population, and led to a migration from
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 ...
s to overcrowded cities.
As the Soviet government annexed territory from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
(both would be incorporated into the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
) and the
Baltic states
The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
, roughly two million Jews became Soviet citizens. Restrictions on Jews that had existed in those countries were lifted. At the same time, Jewish organizations in the transferred territories were shut down and their leaders were arrested and exiled. Approximately 250,000 Jews escaped or were evacuated from the annexed territories to the Soviet interior prior to the Nazi invasion.
Jewish settlement in Crimea
In 1921, Crimea became an autonomous republic. In 1923, the All-Union Central Committee passed a motion to resettle a large number of the Jewish population from Ukrainian and Belarusian cities to Crimea, numbering 570,400 families. The plan to further resettle Jewish families was confirmed by the Central Committee of the USSR on 15 July 1926, assigning 124 million roubles to the task and also receiving 67 million from foreign sources.
The Soviet initiative of Jewish settlement in Crimea was opposed by
Symon Petliura
Symon Vasyliovych Petliura (; – 25 May 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a pa ...
, who regarded it as a provocation. This train of thought was supported by
Arnold Margolin
Arnold Davydovych Margolin () (born: , Kyiv – died October 29, 1956, Washington DC) – was a Ukrainian diplomat, lawyer, active participant in Ukrainian and Jewish community and political affairs; attorney who became world-famous as the defe ...
who stated that it would be dangerous to set up Jewish colonies there.
The Soviets twice sought to establish
Jewish autonomy in Crimea
Jewish autonomy in Crimea was a project in the Soviet Union to create an autonomous region for Jews in the Crimean peninsula carried out during the 1920s and 1930s. Following WWII and the creation of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Far Ea ...
; once, in the 1920s, with the support of the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Advert
Where and how does this article resemble an WP:SOAP, advert and how should it be improved? See: Wikipedia:Spam (you might trthe Teahouseif you have questions).
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a J ...
, and again in 1944, by the
Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, abbreviated as JAC, was an organization that was created in the Soviet Union during World War II to influence international public opinion and organize political and material support for the Soviet fight against ...
.
World War II and aftermath
Holocaust in Ukraine
The total number of civilians who died during the war and the German occupation of Ukraine is estimated to be as high as seven million. This estimate includes over one million Jews who were shot and killed by the
Einsatzgruppen
(, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imp ...
and local Ukrainian collaborators. The excuse of "
Jewish Bolshevism
Jewish Bolshevism, also Judeo–Bolshevism, is an antisemitic and anti-communist conspiracy theory that claims that the Russian Revolution of 1917 was a Jewish plot and that Jews controlled the Soviet Union and international communist moveme ...
" was also used to carry them out.
The total number of Jews killed in the
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
in Eastern Ukraine, or the Ukrainian SSR (within its 1938 borders), is estimated to be slightly less than 700,000 out of a total pre-Holocaust Jewish population of slightly over 1.5 million. Within the borders of Modern
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, the death toll is estimated to be around 900,000.
Post-war situation
Ukraine had 840,000 Jews in 1959, a decrease of almost 70% from 1941 (within Ukraine's current borders). Ukraine's Jewish population declined significantly during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. In 1989, Ukraine's Jewish population was only slightly more than half of what it had been in 1959.
Such immigrants included artists, such as
Marina Maximilian Blumin
Marina Maximilian Blumin (; born 15 December 1987), known professionally as Marina Maximilian, is an Israeli singer-songwriter and actress. She was the runner-up on the fifth season of the reality music competition show ''Kokhav Nolad''.
Early ...
and street artist Klone, as well as activists including
Gennady Riger
Gennady Riger (; 24 May 1948 – 12 October 2015) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Yisrael BaAliyah between 1999 and 2003.
Biography
Born in the Soviet Union, Riger studied mechanical engineering at Lviv U ...
and
Lia Shemtov
Lia Shemtov (; born 25 May 1958) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of Nazareth Illit City Council. She was a member of the Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu between 2006 and 2013.
Biography
Born in Chernivtsi in the Ukrainian ...
.
Independent Ukraine
Emigration
In 1989, a Soviet census counted 487,000 Jews living in Ukraine. Although discrimination by the state all but halted after
Ukrainian independence
Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publi ...
in 1991, Jews were still discriminated against during the 1990s. For instance, Jews were not allowed to attend some educational institutions.Author bio Antisemitism has since declined.
The overwhelming majority of the Jews who remained in Ukraine in 1989 then moved to other countries in the 1990s during and after the
collapse of Communism
The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...
.
Some 266,300 Ukrainian Jews
emigrated to Israel
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described ...
in the 1990s. The
2001 Ukrainian Census
The 2001 Ukrainian census is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989. According to the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister of Israel, early 2012 there were 250,000 Jews in Ukraine, half of them living in Kyiv. According to the European Jewish Congress, as of 2014, 360,000–400,000 Jews remained.
Jewish life and organizations in independent Ukraine
By 1999 there were various Ukrainian Jewish organizations that disputed each other's legitimacy.
In November 2007, an estimated 700
Torah
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
scrolls confiscated from Jewish communities during the Soviet era were returned to Jewish communes by state authorities.
The Ukrainian Jewish Committee was established in 2008 in Kyiv to concentrate the efforts of Jewish leaders in Ukraine on resolving the community's strategic problems and addressing socially significant issues. The Committee declared its intention to become one of the world's most influential organizations protecting the rights of Jews and "the most important and powerful structure protecting human rights in Ukraine".
Ukrainian Parliament
The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...
, garnering 10.44% of the popular vote and the fourth most seats among national political parties; This led to concern among Jewish organizations that accused "Svoboda" of Nazi sympathies and antisemitism. In May 2013, the
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...
listed the party as
neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
. "Svoboda" has denied the charges.
Antisemitic graffiti and violence against Jews were still a problem in 2010.
Revolution of 2014 and start of Russo-Ukrainian war
After the
Euromaidan
Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...
eastern Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...
, and this escalated in April 2014 into the
war in Donbas
The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...
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 ...
.
In April 2014, in the city of
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
occupied by Russian-backed forces, leaflets were distributed by three masked men as people left a synagogue, ordering Jews to register to avoid losing their property and citizenship "given that the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine support the
Banderite
A Banderite or Banderovite (; ; ; ) is a name for the members of the OUN-B, a faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The term, used from late 1940 onward, derives from the name of Stepan Bandera (1909–1959), the ultranation ...
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, ...
and are hostile to the
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
Donetsk Republic and its citizens". After the distribution of the flyers was reported,
Denis Pushilin
Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin (born 9 May 1981) is a Russian politician who has served as the Head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) since 2018. He has held the position in an acting capacity ever since the Russian annexation of the DPR in ...
, whom the leaflets claimed had issued the discriminatory order, denied any involvement on behalf of himself and the government of the
Donetsk People's Republic
The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...
. The chief rabbi of the city of Donetsk, Pinchas Vishedski, later called the distribution of the flyers a "hoax" that was carried out by an unknown party, adding "I think it's someone trying to use the Jewish community in Donetsk as an instrument in this conflict. That's why we're upset."
After the Euromaidan, the number of Ukrainian Jews making ''
aliyah
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
'' from Ukraine grew 142% during the first four months of 2014 compared to the previous year. 800 people arrived in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
over January–April, and over 200 signed up for May 2014. However, chief rabbi and
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...
emissary 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, ...
Rabbi Jonathan Markovitch said in late April 2014 "Today, you can come to Kyiv,
Dnipro
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
or
Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
and walk through the streets openly dressed as a Jew, with nothing to be afraid of".
In August 2014, the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...
reported that the
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (also referred to as IFCJ or The Fellowship) is a philanthropic organization founded in 1983 by Yechiel Eckstein whose stated mission is to promote understanding and cooperation between Jews a ...
was organizing chartered flights to allow at least 150 Ukrainian Jews to immigrate to Israel in September. Jewish organizations within Ukraine, as well as the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Advert
Where and how does this article resemble an WP:SOAP, advert and how should it be improved? See: Wikipedia:Spam (you might trthe Teahouseif you have questions).
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a J ...
, the
Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO).
As an ...
and the Jewish community of
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
, arranged temporary homes and shelters for hundreds of Jews who fled the war in Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Hundreds of Jews reportedly fled the cities of
Luhansk
Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine.
Luhansk served as the administra ...
and Donetsk.
In 2014
Ihor Kolomoyskyi
Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi (; ; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli billionaire businessman, once considered the leading oligarch in Ukraine.
Already an entrepreneur in the last years of Soviet Ukraine, in 2010 Kolomoyskyi w ...
and
Volodymyr Groysman
Volodymyr Borysovych Groysman (; born 20 January 1978) is a Ukrainian statesman, politician, and businessman. He served as the 16th Prime Minister of Ukraine from 14 April 2016, to 29 August 2019.
From 2006 to 2014, he was the mayor of Vinny ...
were appointed Governor of
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in simultaneously southern, eastern and central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. It was created on February 27, 1932. Dnipropetro ...
and Speaker of the Parliament respectively. "The Ukrainian Crisis and the Jews: A Time for Hope or Despair," ''Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs'' VIII : 2 (2014) pp 77–85. Groysman became
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The prime minister of Ukraine (, , ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the government of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the government of Ukrain ...
Kvartal 95 Studio
Kvartal 95 Studio (; ) is a Ukrainian production company founded in 2003 by Volodymyr Zelenskyy (who later became President of Ukraine) alongside Serhiy and Boris Shefir. The company produces films and television shows in Russian and Ukrainian ...
, and lead actor in the TV series ''
Servant of the People
Servant of the People (; ''SN'') is a Liberalism, liberal, Centrism, centrist, Pro-Europeanism, pro-European List of political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine. Since both the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election and the 2019 Ukra ...
''
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
defeated incumbent
Petro Poroshenko
Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...
with 73.23% of the vote, the biggest
landslide victory
A landslide victory is an election result in which the winning Candidate#Candidates in elections, candidate or political party, party achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyo ...
in the history of
Ukrainian presidential elections
Ukrainian presidential elections determine who will serve as the President of Ukraine for the next five years.
Since the establishment of the position of the President of Ukraine in 1991, presidential elections have taken place seven times: in 1 ...
. During the brief overlap of Zelenskyy's and Groysman's terms (20 May to 29 August 2019), Ukraine was the only country in the world apart from Israel to have both a Jewish president and prime minister.
2022 Russian invasion
In February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine. The Israeli Embassy stayed open on the Sabbath to facilitate the evacuation of Jews. A total of 97 Jews chose to travel to Israel. In addition, 140 Jewish orphans fled to Romania and Moldova. 100 Jews fled to Belarus in order to prepare for their eventual move to Israel. On 2 March 2022, the Jewish Agency for Israel reported that hundreds of Jewish war refugees sheltering in Poland, Romania and Moldova were scheduled to leave for Israel the following week. Refugee estimates ranged from 10,000 to 15,200 refugees had arrived in Israel. In September 2023 it was reported that over 43,000 Jews from Russia and over 15,000 Jews from Ukraine have fled to Israel. By August 2024, out of an estimated 30,000 Jews who immigrated to Israel since 7 October 2023, 17,000 Jews were from Russia and 900 Jews from Ukraine.
On 22 August 2024,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i
Ynet
Ynet (stylized in all lowercase) is an Israeli news and general-content website, and the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronoth'' newspaper.
History
Ynet launched on June 6, 2000, in Hebrew, following other Hebrew outlet's website launches ...
news reported that at least 100 Jewish Ukrainian soldiers had been killed fighting Russia since the beginning of the invasion.
Jewish communities in modern Ukraine
As of 2012, Ukraine had the fifth-largest Jewish community in Europe and the twelfth-largest in the world, behind
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and ahead of
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. The majority live in
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, ...
(about half),
Dnipro
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
,
Kharkiv
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
and
Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
Shmuel Kaminetsky
Shmuel Kaminetsky (born 1965) is an Israel-born rabbi and has been the rabbi of Dnipro and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast since 1990.
Biography
Shmuel Kaminetsky's parents emigrated from the USSR to Israel due to Soviet religious persecution in 1946. ...
of Dnipro are considered to be among the most influential foreigners in the country. Opened in October 2012 in Dnipro, the multifunctional Menorah center is among the world's largest
Jewish community center
A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations, ...
s.
A growing trend among Israelis is to visit Ukraine on a "roots trip" to learn of Jewish life there.''A mile in their shoes, By Moshe Gilad, RISU'' Kyiv is usually mentioned, where it is possible to trace the paths of
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 ), ...
and
Golda Meir
Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government.
Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...
;
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...
and
Korostyshiv
Korostyshiv (, ; ; ) is a city in Zhytomyr Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. Prior to 2020, it served as the administrative center of the former Korostyshiv Raion. Population:
History
The city was founded around the VI-VII centuries. According ...
Berdychiv
Berdychiv (, ) is a historic city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Berdychiv Raion within the oblast. It is south of the administrative center of the oblast, Zhytomyr. Its population is approximat ...
, where one can trace the life of
Mendele Mocher Sforim
Mendele Mocher Sforim (, ; lit. "Mendele the book peddler"; January 2, 1836, Kapyl – December 8, 1917 .S. Odessa), born Sholem Yankev Abramovich (, ) or S. J. Abramowitch, was a Jewish author and one of the founders of modern Yiddish and Heb ...
;
Rivne
Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivne Raion (district) within the oblast.
, where one can follow the course of
Amos Oz
Amos Oz (; born Amos Klausner (); 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onwards, Oz was a pro ...
;
Buchach
Buchach (, ; ; or ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city located on the Strypa River (a tributary of the Dniester) in Chortkiv Raion of Ternopil Oblast (Oblast, province) of Western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Buchach urban h ...
Drohobych
Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it w ...
– the place of
Maurycy Gottlieb
Maurycy Gottlieb ; 21 February 1856 – 17 July 1879) was a Polish-Jewish realist Painting, painter of the Romanticism in Poland, Romantic period. Considered one of the most talented students of Jan Matejko, Gottllieb died at the age of 23.
Car ...
and
Bruno Schulz
Bruno Schulz (12 July 1892 – 19 November 1942) was a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jewish writer, fine artist, Literary criticism, literary critic and Art education, art teacher. He is regarded as one of the great Polish (language), Po ...
.
Ukraine is known as a major exporter of handmade
matzah
Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah ('','' : matzot or Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashk. matzos) is an Unleavened bread, unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' (lea ...
to the United States.
Notable Ukrainian Jews
See also
*
Antisemitism in Europe
Antisemitism, the prejudice or discrimination against Jews, has had a long history since the Classical antiquity, ancient times. While antisemitism had already been prevalent in ancient Greece and Roman Empire, its institutionalization in Europ ...
*
Racism in Europe
Racism has been a recurring part of the history of Europe.
Belarus
Belgium
Racism in Belgium existed since its independence declaration during the colonial era. A 2011 study shows that racism against sub-saharan people is strongly influenced ...
*
Racism in Lithuania
Racism in Lithuania appears mainly in the form of negative attitudes and actions towards people who are not considered ethnically Lithuanian, especially if the foreigner is of different race. According to the data provided by the Centre for Ethnic ...
*
Racism in Poland
Racism in Poland has been a subject of extensive studies. Ethnic minorities historically made up a substantial proportion of Poland's population, from the founding of the Polish state through the Second Polish Republic, than they did after World ...
*
Antisemitism in Russia
Antisemitism in Russia is expressed in acts of hostility against Jews in Russia and the promotion of antisemitic views in the Russian Federation. This article covers the events since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Previous time periods a ...
*
Racism in Russia
Racism in Russia mainly appears in the form of negative attitudes towards non-ethnic Russian citizens, immigrants or tourists and negative actions against them by some Russians. Traditionally, Russian racism includes antisemitism and Tataropho ...
*
Antisemitism in the Soviet Union
The February Revolution in Russia officially ended a centuries-old regime of antisemitism in the Russian Empire, legally abolishing the Pale of Settlement. However, the previous legacy of antisemitism was continued and furthered by the Soviet s ...
*
Racism in the Soviet Union
Soviet leaders and authorities officially condemned nationalism and proclaimed internationalism and anti-nationalism, including the right of nations and peoples to self-determination. Soviet internationalism during the era of the USSR and wi ...
*
Antisemitism in Ukraine
Antisemitism in Ukraine has been a historical issue in the country, particularly in the twentieth century. The history of the Jewish community of the region dates back to the era when ancient Greek colonies existed in it. A third of the ...
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Racism in Ukraine
Ukraine is a multi-ethnic country that was formerly part of the Soviet Union. Valeriy Govgalenko argues that racism and ethnic discrimination has arguably been a largely fringe issue in the past, but has had a climb in social influence due to Rig ...
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Galician Jews
Galician Jews or Galitzianers () are members of the subgroup of Ashkenazim, Ashkenazi Jews originating and developed in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and Bukovina from contemporary western Ukraine (Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblas ...
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History of the Jews in Carpathian Ruthenia
Jews settled in this small region variously called Ruthenia, Carpathian Ruthenia, Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia or simply Transcarpathia as early as the 15th century. Local rulers allowed Jewish citizens to own land and practice many trades that were p ...
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History of the Jews in Europe
The history of the Jews in Europe spans a period of over two thousand years. Jews, a Semitic people descending from the Judeans of Judea in the Southern Levant, Natural History 102:11 (November 1993): 12–19. began migrating to Europe just b ...
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History of the Jews in Kyiv
The history of the Jews in Kyiv 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
The first mention of Jews in Kyiv is found in the 10th century '' Kievian L ...
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History of the Jews in Lithuania
The history of the Jews in Lithuania spans the period from the 14th century to the present day. There is still a small community in the country, as well as an extensive Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian Jewish diaspora in Israel, the United States, ...
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History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
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History of the Jews in Russia
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...
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History of the Jews in the Soviet Union
The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. "For ...
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Israel–Lithuania relations
Israel–Lithuania relations are foreign relations between Israel and Lithuania. Israel recognized Lithuania's independence in 1991. Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1992. Israel is represented in Lithuania through its embassy in ...
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Israel–Poland relations
Israel–Poland relations comprise diplomatic relations between Israel and Poland. Israel has an embassy in Warsaw, while Poland has an embassy in Tel Aviv. The Polish ambassador to Israel is Marek Magierowski, while the newly appointed Israeli ...
Soviet Union and the Arab–Israeli conflict
The Soviet Union played a significant role in the Arab–Israeli conflict as the conflict was a major part of the Cold War.
Marxism–Leninism and Zionism
The official Soviet ideological position on Zionism condemned the movement as akin to " ...
Janowska concentration camp
Janowska concentration camp (, , ) was a German Nazi concentration camp combining elements of labor, transit, and extermination camps. It was established in September 1941 on the outskirts of Lwów in what had become, after the German invasion, ...
Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, abbreviated as JAC, was an organization that was created in the Soviet Union during World War II to influence international public opinion and organize political and material support for the Soviet fight against ...
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Jewish gauchos
Jewish gauchos (, ) were Jewish immigrants who settled in fertile regions of Argentina in agricultural colonies established by the Jewish Colonization Association. The association was established by Baron Maurice de Hirsch, a Jewish-French industr ...
List of Galician Jews
List of Galicia (Eastern Europe) Jews – Jews born in Galicia (Eastern Europe) or identifying themselves as ''Galitzianer''. Those born after the Congress of Vienna would be considered subjects of the Austrian Empire, Austrian empire and those a ...
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List of Polish Jews
From the Middle Ages until the Holocaust, Polish Jews comprised an appreciable part of Poland's population. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, known for its religious toleranceHugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, ''From Counter-Reformation to Glorio ...
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Lithuanian Jews
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar , Population
Litvaks ({{Langx, yi, ליטװאַקעס) or Lita'im ({{Langx, he, לִיטָאִים) are Jews who historically resided in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuan ...
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Lwów Ghetto
The Lwów Ghetto (; ) was a Nazi ghetto in the city of Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) in the territory of Nazi-administered General Government in German-occupied Poland.
The ghetto, set up in the second half of 1941, was liquidated in June 1943; all ...
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Lwów Uprising
The Lwów Uprising () was an armed insurrection by the Home Army () underground forces of the Polish resistance movement in World War II against the Nazi German occupation of the city of Lviv in the latter stages of World War II. It began on 23 ...
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The Holocaust in Lithuania
The Holocaust resulted in the near total eradication of Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian (Litvaks) and History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' of the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' in the Occupation of Lithuania by Na ...
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The Holocaust in Poland
The Holocaust saw the ghettoization, robbery, deportation and mass murder of Jews, alongside other groups under Nazi racial theories, similar racial pretexts in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland by the Nazi Germany. Over th ...
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The Holocaust in Russia
The Holocaust saw a genocide committed against Russian Jews during the occupation of the Soviet Russia by Nazi Germany.
World War II
On 22 June 1941, Adolf Hitler abruptly broke the non−aggression pact and invaded the Soviet Union. The Sovi ...
The Holocaust in Ukraine
The Holocaust saw the systematic mass murder of Jews in the '' Reichskommissariat Ukraine'', the General Government, the Crimean General Government and some areas which were located to the east of ''Reichskommissariat Ukraine'' (all of those ar ...
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Three hares
The three hares (or three rabbits) is a circular motif appearing in sacred sites from China , the Middle East and the churches and synagogues of Europe, in particular those of Devon, England (as the " Tinners' Rabbits"), . It is used as an ar ...
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Wooden synagogue
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that ...
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Yerusalimka
Yerusalimka or Ierusalimka (), the name derived from Jerusalem, was a Jewish quarter of the town of Vinnytsia in west-central Ukraine. In the beginning of the 20th century Vinnytsia, the chief town of Podolia Governorate, was inhabited by 4,000 ...
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List of synagogues in Ukraine
This list of synagogues in Ukraine contains active, otherwise used and destroyed synagogues in Ukraine. In all cases the year of the completion of the building is given. Italics indicate an approximate date. Mostly preserved, but repurposed buil ...
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...