2. .Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, the Chief Rabbi of Dnipropetrovsk, remains the central Jewish figure in eastern Ukraine and one of the most respected rabbis in all of the post-Soviet successor states. Politically astute and perhaps the first rabbi in the successor states to be successful in major local fundraising, he has built an unequalled network of local Jewish institutions. Such construction efforts continue in the extensive renovation of the Golden Rose choral synagogue and development of an attached Jewish community center, a Holocaust museum, an assisted-Iiving center for Jewish elderly (in cooperation with another Jewish group), and a residential facility for developmentally disabled Jewish youth.6 One measure of the scope of his operations in Dnipropetrovsk is the presence of 17 additional Chabad rabbis in the city, each of whom is engaged in Jewish communal endeavors.7 Rabbi Kaminezki also is developing local Jewish leadership.

3. Economic distress continues to be a defining condition of the area. said Rabbi Kaminezki. However, he is optimistic that the new Prime Minister. Yili!Qr Yushchenko, will .'bring order" to the national economy. Such "order," observed Rabbi Kaminezki, may cause problems for wealthy individuals because it is almost certain that more stringent tax collection procedures will be an important component of economic reform. The new Minister of Economics. Dnipropetrovsk native Serhv TvhvDko, already is a wealthy man. noted Rabbi Kaminezki. and thus is unlikely to try to manipulate the economy for his own needs.8

4. Antisemitism, provoked by economic and political turmoil, is increasing in the area, said Rabbi Kaminezki. Russian nationalists distributed antisemitic tracts during recent mayoral elections, drawing attention to the development of Jewish institutions in the city and to ties between the current mayor (as well as his predecessor) with prominent Israelis, including Natan Sharansky and Chabad supporter levi levayev. (Not withstanding the attacks, the mayor was re- elected. )

Rabbi Kaminezki acknowledged that he is livery worried" about the new activism of The National Movement for the Liberation of Palestine -Ukraine. This group is supported by some Arab students in Dnipropetrovsk and some local individuals.

5. Rabbi Kaminezki continues to work closely with the Philanthropic Fund of the Dnipropetrovsk Jewish Community (6J1arOTBOp~TeJ1bHbIH cPOHA AHenpOneTpOBCKOrO eBpeHcKOrO O6~~Hbl) that was established in October 1998 under his leadership. The Board of Trustees (none~I01Tef1bCKI01~ coBeT) of the Philanthropic Fund includes 45 local Jews, and a Presidium of nine individuals is responsible for day-to-day oversight. Gennadv BoQolubov, a nationally prominent banker, is President of the organization and chairs its Welfare Committee, which oversees the work of its Welfare Department and works closely with the local office of the Joint Distribution Committee.

Leaders of the Fund are committed to the Jewish community, said Rabbi Kaminezki. They reach decisions on the basis of principle, rather than on ego gratification. They do not want to be in the spotlight. All of their records are open for scrutiny. They do not want to be perceived as a clique or part of a conspiracy to rule the Jewish population.

The major departments (HanpaBfleH~~, c~epbl Ae~TeflbHocTe~) of the Fund are: Education; Sports and Physical Culture; Culture; Mass Media; Religion; and Regional Activity. Each is supervised by a committee chaired by a Presidium member. The Education department, which is the main priority of the Fund and has the largest budget, oversees the day school, pre-school, heder, machon, yeshiva, Beit Chana Jewish Women's Pedagogical Institute, and the popular Jewish university. Each department is headed by a paid professional staff member.

The majority of Trustees contribute $500 monthly to the Fund, but some give as much as $5000. The 1999 operating budget was $500,000; another $300,000 was raised for renovation of the Golden Rose synagogue (see below). Rabbi Kaminezki observed that the Board of Trustees now has very high expectations for its ability to effect change and bring improvements to the lives of Jews in the city. This outlook is evident, he continued, in decisions of the Board to build an assisted living center for elderly Jews and to expand programs for handicapped children. Further, the Board now perceives its responsibilities as extending beyond Dnipropetrovsk; it is allocating $50,000 to be assigned to the needs of as many as 30 smaller Jewish population centers --some with fewer than 1,000 Jews --in the surrounding area.

Rabbi Kaminezki is working closely with the Jewish Agency for Israel (Sochnut) in its efforts to introduce more elements of Jewish tradition into its Hebrew ulpan classes. Jews want such instruction, said Rabbi Kaminezki; they are searching for a Jewish identity. As many as 25 to 30 individuals in Dnipropetrovsk may be qualified to teach tradition classes, he continued. Obviously, some of the 18 rabbis in the city might participate in this effort; additionally, the wives of these rabbis, yeshiva students, and educated local people, such as Yan Sidelkovskv, also may be appropriate instructors. Rabbi Kaminezki believes that many of the weekend seminars scheduled for such groups may be held in the Dnipropetrovsk region because it is less expensive to rent winterized seminar centers here than in the Kyiv area.9

Rabbi Kaminezki believes that relations among JAFI, the Joint Distribution Committee, Nativ, and local groups are good. All parties cooperate with each other and join in sponsoring city-wide holiday observances.

6. Renovation of the Golden Rose Choral Synagogue has resumed after a delay stemming from difficulty in collecting pledge payments following the collapse of the Russian ruble in August 1998 and subsequent economic problems in Ukraine. A $500.000 gift from a New York family with roots in Dnipropetrovsk revived the project. It is planned that the synagogue will be completed in time for observance of Rosh Hashanah in September 2000.10

Newly opened municipal records show that the site has a long history of use by the Jewish community. A wooden synagogue was erected at the same location in 1800. After the wooden building was destroyed by fire some 50 years later, the current synagogue was constructed in 1854. Following the Soviet revolution, the synagogue was used as a warehouse by an adjacent clothing factory. The Jewish community recovered the building in 1996 after a long and acrimonious dispute with the operators of the factory.

No photographs or drawings exist of the interior of the synagogue before its conversion into a warehouse. The renovated sanctuary will have a modern design with six pillars on either side of the Aron kodesh, each pillar representing one of the tribes of Israel. A women's gallery at the rear of the sanctuary will offer seating in chairs mounted on graduated risers.

7. A four-storey Jewish community center is under construction in back of the synagogue. The community Philanthropic Fund, the Joint Distribution Committee, and individual contributors are supporting its construction. The ground floor will include a multimedia computer laboratory and teaching facility with Internet capacity and a Judaica software library. It also will feature a kitchen and dining room for weekday and Shabbat meals. The second floor will house Rabbi Kaminezki's office, several meeting and conference rooms, and offices for the community newspaper ( Shabbat Shalom), weekly television program, and other community groups. Classrooms will fill the third floor. The fourth floor will be a youth center, containing offices and activity rooms for children's and youth clubs as well as for the local Hillel student group. No elevator is included in the current plans, but space exists for one to be added at a later date.

8. Another project related to the synagogue is a Holocaust museum and research center, soon to be developed in an existing building to the right of the main structure. The Philanthropic Fund and JDC are the major institutional donors. One member of the Presidium of the Philanthropic Fund also has committed a personal gift toward this project. The museum will include materials on the entire Holocaust as well as on local and regional aspects.11 It will train speakers for presentations to both Jewish and non-Jewish groups, especially schools.

9. As he had done during several previous visits of the writer, Rabbi Kaminezki initiated a discussion on Jewish pluralism. He is not a "policeman of G-d", he said. The Hillel student group and the Jewish Community Center [operating in the current Hesed building] each interprets Judaism as it believes appropriate. Ukraine is a large country, he continued, and the Reform movement is here [in Ukraine].

Recently, said Rabbi Kaminezki, a group of Jews in Pavlograd12 decided to form a Progressive (Reform) congregation. When they needed to register with oblast (regional) authorities as a religious community, Rabbi Kaminezki helped them to do so. He expects to receive a thank-you letter from them for his assistance.

The SBU (Ukrainian successor to the Soviet KGB) approached him about the emergence of the Progressive group in Pavlograd, said Rabbi Kaminezki. They are concerned about the existence of a separate Jewish group. The SBU, he noted, prefers a strong, united Jewish community [with one person at a single address in control]. Many Jews in Dnipropetrovsk also think that only one Jewish religious culture should exist in the city, continued Rabbi Kaminezki. They are apprehensive about intrigue and infighting that might erupt within the Jewish community if an additional group purports to represent Jewish religious interests. They believe that the Jewish population will acquire an unfavorable image if it appears divided.13

6. These projects are discussed below.
7. Several of these rabbis also are employed in private ventures on a part-time basis
8. Mr. Tyhypko is from Dnipropetrovsk as is the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma and the immediate past Prime Minister. Historically, individuals from Dnipropetrovsk have played a major role in national Ukrainian and former Soviet politics. The most prominent Soviet leader from the city was Leonid Brezhnev.
9. See pp. 42-43 for more details about the Jewish Agency program. Van Sidelkovsky is a local man who manages the Beit Baruch program for Jewish elderly and is the local representative of both the Boston JCRC in its kehilla project with Dnipropetrovsk and the Boston Action for Post- Soviet Jewry Adopt-A-Bubbe/Adopt-A-Zayde program. See pp. 9-10 for more information about these programs.
10. The current synagogue, which is too small to accommodate worshippers on holy days, will become part of the Beit Baruch senior center that already operates on the site. See below.
11. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, many Dnipropetrovsk Jews were evacuated from the city as essential workers in defense factories that were hastily moved further east. Nazi forces occupied the city from August 1941 until October 1943. Approximately 11 ,000 Jews were killed at Zhendarmskaya balka, a gully in an area then considered on the outskirts of town, on October 13, 1941. Perhaps 20,000 more were murdered at other sites. Russian-Ianguage speakers often refer to the Holocaust or Shoah as the Katastrofa.
12. Pavlograd is located about 40 miles east of Dnipropetrovsk. Its general population is about 130,000. Perhaps 500 Jews live in the city.
13. If Rabbi Kaminezki's remarks are valid, they may reflect, in part, efforts by a particular individual in the city to lead various local Jewish organizations, including a Jewish welfare service and a Progressive group, that compete with several established Jewish institutions. The perception of this individual among many local Jews is not that of a legitimate Jewish leader seeking to introduce reasonable alternative Jewish organizations into Dnipropetrovsk Jewish life, but rather that of a power-craving personality eager to gain control over resources of others in order to satisfy his own ego needs. Unsuccessful in his Dnipropetrovsk Jewish leadership quest, the individual has since moved to Kyiv and has become a vice president of Vadim Rabinovich's United Jewish Community of Ukraine. He is said to represent Dnipropetrovsk in UJCU, but is not known to retain any constituency in the city.