Chief rabbi of Kyiv looks forward to Yushchenko presidency (05/08/05)

Chief rabbi of Kyiv looks forward to Yushchenko presidency

by Oksana Zakydalsky

TORONTO - Rabbi Moshe-Reuven Azman, chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Kyiv Region, expressed confidence that, under a Yushchenko presidency, Ukrainian-Jewish relations will get even better. "Today, when the efforts of millions of Ukrainian citizens are crowned with success, we believe that during the presidency of Viktor Yushchenko, we will be able to move forward on the way to the strengthening of mutual understanding and respect between Ukrainians and Jews," he said.

Speaking on April 5 at Beth Emmett Dais Yehuda Synagogue in Toronto at the invitation of the Jewish National Fund of Canada, the rabbi spoke very highly of Mr. Yushchenko, emphasizing that he has known the new president for many years and highlighting the fact that "in the midst of revolutionary events in the country, he joined us at our synagogue for Chanukkah celebrations and, after his victory, he officially invited me to attend the ceremony of his inauguration."

The rabbi did explain that good Ukrainian-Jewish relations did not start with Viktor Yushchenko. "Ukrainian Jewish life experienced a remarkable and open revival following independence in 1991. The government has been supportive of the Jewish religious and cultural revival. During these years, dozens of religious congregations and synagogues, as well as community, charity and youth organizations, Jewish press and art collectives, emerged throughout Ukraine," he said. The Kyiv Synagogue - built in 1898 by Kyiv businessman Lazar Brodsky and confiscated by the Soviets in 1926 - was returned to the Jewish community in 1997 and has since undergone extensive restoration. Today it is the center of Jewish spiritual, educational and community life in the capital region.

But the rabbi pointed out that "irregardless of the loyal policy of President [Leonid] Kuchma toward the Jewish population of the country, we realized that any government which is ready to deceive its own citizens and whose only purpose is to hold on to power, cannot be a reliable partner for the Jewish community."

"Thus, our community, as part of Ukrainian civil society, made its choice in the days of the Orange Revolution. Every day, around the clock, minivans with hot meals, broth and tea for demonstrators, who flocked to Kyiv from all over Ukraine, went back and forth between the Brodsky Synagogue and the maidan. The doors of our synagogue were open for any person who spent countless hours outdoors. Here they could rest and even stay overnight," he explained.

Rabbi Azman was involved in the events on the maidan (Independence Square). "I personally distributed food and warm clothing, and I remember the amazement in the eyes of people when we arrived and started to give them free hot meals. Of course, we were in kipas, Chassidic hats, with long beards and peyotes; in other words, we looked obviously Jewish. Yet people were surprised only in the very beginning, as quite soon they started to express their gratitude and satisfaction that Jews also supported their cause. Some people said that they witnessed an extraordinary scene on the maidan, when Catholic and Orthodox priests, as well as just people, approached one of our minivans, which distributed food to demonstrators, and started to dance vividly to Jewish songs," he said.

He revealed that at the end of March President Yushchenko had signed a decree restoring the second building of the so-called Brodsky Synagogue to the Jewish community, something the community had been seeking for 10 years. Other projects of the community include: the restoration of old Jewish cemeteries and their designation as national architectural monuments under official governmental protection, the creation of a Jewish orphanage and the building of a museum at the site of Babyn Yar.

"There is a lot to be done in order to succeed in the realization of these ambitious plans and we are ready to work very hard. There is no doubt that official support for our endeavors will also be crucial," he said.

Rabbi Azman has been chief rabbi of Kyiv since 1997. He was born in 1966 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). While enrolled in a dental college, he also studied at an underground yeshiva. After eight years of unsuccessful attempts to immigrate to Israel, he was finally allowed to leave in 1987. From 1987 to 1991 he studied at the Jerusalem Yeshiva, spending eight months in Canada as an assistant to a Toronto rabbi at the Jewish Russian Community Center. On graduation, he joined the Israeli Army and, in 1992-1995, worked on a project in Israel aimed at assisting children - victims of Chornobyl.

In 1995 he went to work for the Kyiv Jewish community, becoming chief rabbi two years later. In 2000 he was made chief rabbi of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress, an umbrella organization of Jewish organizations and associations in Ukraine which also promotes the expansion of medium and small businesses to help their transition from foreign support to self-reliance. In 2001 Rabbi Azman received the Kyiv Award of Honor from Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko.

The rabbi did mention the strained relations that had existed between the Jewish and Ukrainian populations. "Even though the official position of the government ostracizes anti-Semitism, the stereotypes among the population are still strong," he said. Since the 16th century, Ukrainian territories have been home to more Jews than any other European country and today, although the there are only about 300,000 to 500,000 Jews in Ukraine, it is still the highest number of Jews in any country in Europe. In Kyiv itself there are about 80,000 Jews, down from about 300,000 in 1991.

But for most the period of the co-existence of Jewish and Ukrainian communities, political power rested elsewhere. "For the first time in its history, Ukraine has a president elected in the most democratic way - through an open declaration of the people's will. The people gathered together to support their candidate and to preserve their right to honest, transparent elections, the right to elect their government and to choose their destiny," he said.

"There were a lot of miracles on the maidan - people experienced moments of despair and joy of triumph. Yet, to my mind, the most incredible was the miracle of unification. Those people, who in frosty and slippery weather stood on the maidan, did not care who stood next to them whether rich or poor, young or old, Ukrainians or Jews. The main thing was that they were free people, who believed in their own power."

"Indeed, what can be more frustrating and disappointing than the realization of one's own helplessness and inability to change your own life and the life of the people you love for the better?" he said. "It was frequently noted that during that unique election campaign the Ukrainian nation was born. Yet, the nation consists of people, and a conscious and free nation can exist only if citizens of the country feel that they are dignified personalities. The citizens of Ukraine are all people who live in Ukraine and work every day for the sake of the growth and prosperity of their own country and are ready to declare proudly all over the world they are from Ukraine."

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