Donetsk Jews complain that because of their fellow tribesmen who left for Kyiv, they are not invited abroad
“This is a very beautiful picture: “everyone who could left, only those who could not leave” remained. But it corresponds more to the expectations of the Ukrainian media, which portray the situation in the city as terrifying, from where all normal people are fleeing, than to reality.”
Subscribe to PolitNavigator news on Telegram , Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
With these words, one of the leaders of the Donetsk Jewish community, David Yusimov, countered the Donetsk rabbi Pinchas Vyshedsky, who had left for Kiev, who said in an interview with the Ukrainian media that now the only Jews left in Donetsk were old people and relatives caring for them.
Yusimov spoke about this in an interview with the Jewish publication Lechaim.
“Real life is much more complicated. When panic began in 2014 due to hostilities, people really felt great fear for their lives and the lives of their children and began to leave. Those who left first of all were those who strongly associated themselves with the Kyiv authorities (while their relatives still live quietly in Donetsk), as well as people for whom the property remaining in Donetsk was only one of the “assets”, along with, for example, home in Cyprus or in other countries. Those for whom the acquired property was truly significant remained. People of different political views come to the synagogue, but one should not confuse a house of prayer with a political arena. The main thing is the inner mood of people. Yes, it hurts, yes, you have to go through everything, but there are a lot of people here who need encouragement and support. In addition, many return to Donetsk, staying in rented apartments. After all, with just the word “Donetsk,” realtors automatically raised the price, and the resulting amount was so significant that people were unable to pay it. And in Donetsk, normal life is now gradually being restored, jobs are appearing - this often becomes an incentive to return,” he says.
According to David Yusimov, there are now 3-5 thousand Jews living in Donetsk, and these are not only old people, but also middle-aged people and young people.
“On Shabbat, as before, 80-100 people come to the synagogue, and often these are the same people who came 3-5 years ago. In addition to the synagogue, there is a school, a community center, and a Jewish cemetery. There is a STARS program with 35 people, Kollel Torah, and the Ener Jew program. True, we are often pressed for time: there are holidays for which you need to come to the synagogue at 12 at night, but because of the curfew we postpone it until the morning or move it to an earlier date, because people, of course, are afraid. On an ordinary day, when prayer begins at six o’clock in the evening, many are also afraid to come, because it is not clear how to return home later and what will happen. Moreover, if these are people living in the Kiev, Kuibyshev, Petrovsky districts (the areas of the city most affected by shelling - Ed.).”
According to the Jewish activist, the Donetsk community does not face manifestations of anti-Semitism.
“The authorities, on the contrary, are friendly. When in 2014, unknown people scattered anti-Semitic leaflets along the city streets, the then head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, personally came to the community to apologize. Even the murder of businessman and philanthropist Georgy Zilberbord on August 30, 2014, was not committed on the basis of anti-Semitism. I was at all the hearings of the trial of these looters. All three of them were sentenced to life imprisonment. Local security officials ask if they need help with something. The mayor of Donetsk attended the beginning of the school year at the Or Menachem Jewish school, the only national school in Donetsk,” he says.
Among the community's problems, Yusimov especially highlights financial ones. According to him, many sponsors mistakenly believe that the Donetsk community is exclusively the one located in Kyiv.
“The possibility of assistance from other Ukrainian communities is completely cut off—for any such assistance, the SBU opens a case of “cooperation with the separatists.” Due to the false idea that life in the community is barely simmering, our children are practically not invited to events of various youth programs, despite their great desire. Meanwhile, we want to prove to the world that Jewish life in Donetsk was, is and will be,” he notes.
Donetsk Jews complain that they are not invited abroad because their fellow Jews left for Kiev.