By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound Last Purim, Masha Shumatskaya was delivering mishloach manot to elderly Jews in her home city of Donetsk, Ukraine, when she and her friends encountered a separatist rally in front of a nearby government building. “It was a bit scary to beContinue Reading
By Alan H. Gill, JTA World News Service NEW YORK (JTA) — Jewish perseverance, and more than a bit of chutzpah, lies at the heart of the Purim holiday we celebrate this week. It is one of the reasons we are instructed to mark this raucous holiday with boundless joyContinue Reading
(JTA) — A Ukrainian health official warned that Jewish pilgrims converging in Uman may bring with them the Ebola virus and other epidemics.Larissa Kachanova, who heads the local branch of the Ukrainian government’s Sanitary and Epidemiological Management Center, issued the warning Sept. 18 ahead of the arrival of approximatelyContinue Reading
By Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA World News Service DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine (JTA) — Anatoly Lazaurenko’s face betrays no emotion as he watches footage of an old woman he used to know lying in the rubble of what once was his home in the war-torn city of Slavyansk. Oblivious to her mangled face,Continue Reading
(JTA) — Pro-Russian separatists from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine denied any involvement in the circulation of fliers calling on Jews to register with separatists and pay special taxes. The fliers were distributed earlier this week in the city, where pro-Russian separatists led by Denis Pushilin this month took over severalContinue Reading
As the political turmoil rages on in the Ukraine, Jewish communities continue to awaiting nervously the outcome of the civil unrest. With a handful of anti-Semitic incidents having broken out over the past week leaving Ukrainian Jews fearful that they may be amongst those targeted in continued attacks throughout theContinue Reading
