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Jews and Judaism in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast

 

 
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Jews and Judaism in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
 
 
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The Jewish history
Jewish history

Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Jewish culture. Since Jewish history encompasses nearly four thousand years and hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes....
 of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast

Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia of Russia situated in the Far Eastern Federal District federal districts of Russia, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of People's Republic of China....
 (JAO) began with the early settlements of 1928. Yiddish
Yiddish language

Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
, along with Russian
Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
, is one of two official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
s in the JAO.

ay 1928 the first group of Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish settler
Settler

A settler is a person who has human migration to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonies the area. Settlers are generally people who take up Sedentary and agriculture it, as opposed to nomads....
s from cities and villages in Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
, Byelorussia
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
 and Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 arrived in the region that became the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. These individuals settled in many different areas of the autonomous oblast
Autonomous oblast

An autonomous oblast is an autonomous entity within the state which is on the oblast level of the overall administrative subdivision....
, some in Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan

Birobidzhan is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Trans-Siberian railway, close to the border with the People's Republic of China, and is the home of two synagogues, including the Birobidzhan Synagogue, and the Jewish religious community of the...
 and others in various rural settlements.

In 1934, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast was formed in the Russian Far East
Russian Far East

Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Siberia and the Pacific Ocean....
 to show that, like other national groups in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
, Russian Jews
History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union

The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest Jewish diaspora in the world. Within these territories the Jewish community flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of intense antisemitism discriminatory policies and persecutions....
 could receive a territory in which to pursue cultural autonomy in a socialist
Socialist state

The term socialist state can carry one of several different meanings:*Strictly speaking, any real or hypothetical state organized along the principles of socialism may be called a socialist state....
 framework.






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The Jewish history
Jewish history

Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Jewish culture. Since Jewish history encompasses nearly four thousand years and hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes....
 of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast

Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia of Russia situated in the Far Eastern Federal District federal districts of Russia, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of People's Republic of China....
 (JAO) began with the early settlements of 1928. Yiddish
Yiddish language

Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
, along with Russian
Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
, is one of two official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
s in the JAO.

Early settlement

In May 1928 the first group of Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish settler
Settler

A settler is a person who has human migration to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonies the area. Settlers are generally people who take up Sedentary and agriculture it, as opposed to nomads....
s from cities and villages in Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
, Byelorussia
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
 and Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 arrived in the region that became the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. These individuals settled in many different areas of the autonomous oblast
Autonomous oblast

An autonomous oblast is an autonomous entity within the state which is on the oblast level of the overall administrative subdivision....
, some in Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan

Birobidzhan is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Trans-Siberian railway, close to the border with the People's Republic of China, and is the home of two synagogues, including the Birobidzhan Synagogue, and the Jewish religious community of the...
 and others in various rural settlements.

In 1934, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast was formed in the Russian Far East
Russian Far East

Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Siberia and the Pacific Ocean....
 to show that, like other national groups in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
, Russian Jews
History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union

The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest Jewish diaspora in the world. Within these territories the Jewish community flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of intense antisemitism discriminatory policies and persecutions....
 could receive a territory in which to pursue cultural autonomy in a socialist
Socialist state

The term socialist state can carry one of several different meanings:*Strictly speaking, any real or hypothetical state organized along the principles of socialism may be called a socialist state....
 framework. The JAO's capital city was in Birobidzhan, and Yiddish was its official language. Jewish life was revived in Birobidzhan much earlier than in other regions of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
. Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre

Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish community....
s began opening in the 1970s.

Judaism in the 21st century

Rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
 Mordechai Scheiner
Mordechai Scheiner

Mordechai Sheiner has been Chief Rabbi of Jewish Autonomous Oblast since 2002....
, the Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities....
 of Birobidzhan and Chabad Lubavitch
Chabad

*Chabad is an acronym for Chochmah, Binah, and Da'at, the three levels of Sefirot related to cognition according to the Kabbalah.*Chabad-Strashelye, Strashelye is a branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism....
 representative to the region, said "Today one can enjoy the benefits of the Yiddish
Ashkenazi Jews

File:Juden 1881.JPGAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish ethnic divisions of the Rhineland in the west of Germany....
 culture and not be afraid to return to their Jewish traditions. It's safe without any antisemitism and we plan to open the first Jewish day school
Jewish day school

A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide Jewish children with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full time basis, hence its name of "day school" meaning a school that the students attend for an entire day and not on a part time basis....
 here." Scheiner, an Israeli
Israelis

Israelis are citizens of the modern state of Israel regardless of religious heritage or Ethnicity, including most numerously Jews, Muslims, Arab Christians, Arabs, Druze, Circassians, and others....
 father of six, has been the rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
 in Birobidzhan since 2002. He is also the host of the Russian television show, Yiddishkeit
Yiddishkeit (TV show)

Yiddishkeit is a Russian television show concerning the subject of Yiddishkeit. Since 2005, the show has been hosted by the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Mordechai Scheiner....
. The town's synagogue
Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer.Synagogues usually have a large hall for prayer , smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices....
 opened in 2004. Rabbi Scheiner says there are 4,000 Jews in Birobidzhan, just over 5 percent of the town's 75,000 population. The Birobidzhan Jewish Community
Kehilla

A kehilla or kehillah is a Jewish community. In pre-World War II Europe, all towns or cities with a Jewish population had one communal organisation, or occasionally more....
 was led by Lev Toitman
Lev Toitman

Lev Grigorievich Toitman, , was a soldier in World War II . Toitman is known for the, "foundation and revival of the local Jewish community" in Birobidzhan....
, until his death in September 2007.

Yiddish and Jewish traditions have been required components in all public school
Public school

The term public school has two distinct meanings depending on the location of usage:* in the United States, Australia and Canada: A school funded from tax revenue and most commonly administered to some degree by government or local government agencies....
s for almost fifteen years, taught not as Jewish exotica but as part of the region's national heritage. Birobidzhan Synagogue
Birobidzhan Synagogue

The Birobidzhan Synagogue was established in 2004. The synagogue is in the city of Birobidzhan which is the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, an Autonomous oblasts of Russia....
, completed in 2004, is accompanied by a complex housing Sunday School
Sunday school

"Sunday school" is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations....
 classrooms, a library
Library

A library is a collection of information, sources, resources, books, and services, and the structure in which it is housed: it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual....
, a museum
Museum

A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment, for the purposes of education, study, and entertainment", as defined by the International Coun...
, and administrative offices. The buildings were officially opened in 2004 to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Concerning the Jewish Community of the oblast
Oblast

Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic peoples countries and in some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"....
, Governor
Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the Executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, a governor may be the title of each appointed or elected politician who governs a constitutive state....
 Nikolay Mikhaylovich Volkov
Nikolay Mikhaylovich Volkov

Nikolai Volkov is a Russian politician....
 has stated that he intends to "support every valuable initiative maintained by our local Jewish organizations." In 2007, the First Birobidzhan International Summer Program for Yiddish Language and Culture was launched by Yiddish studies professor Boris Kotlerman of Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University

Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 Faculty members....
.

In 2004 the Regional Government announced that Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar
Berel Lazar

Rabbi Berel Lazar is an Orthodox Judaism rabbi affiliated with the Chabad Hasidic Judaism movement. He is presently one of two claimants to the title "Chief Rabbi of Russia", is the chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities....
 has agreed to take part in the 70th anniversary celebration for the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Rabbi Lazar and Avraham Berkowitz, the Executive Director of the Federation of Jewish Communities CIS
Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS

Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS was created in November of 1998 to unite efforts aimed at restoring Jewish life, culture and religion in the post-Soviet states....
 will lead a delegation to Birobidjan for the event. The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia

Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia ? Russian Federation religious organization, unifying communities of ?orthodox? Judaism, mostly of Chabad Hasidic movement....
 estimates the number of Jews in Russia
History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union

The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest Jewish diaspora in the world. Within these territories the Jewish community flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of intense antisemitism discriminatory policies and persecutions....
 at about one million, or 0.7 percent of the country's 143 million population.

Concerning the status of Judaism
Judaism

Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts....
 in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast

Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia of Russia situated in the Far Eastern Federal District federal districts of Russia, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of People's Republic of China....
, Chief Rabbi Mordechai Sheiner has stated, "Jewish life is reviving, both in quantity and quality." In 2006, Rabbi Scheiner visited the villages of Bira
Bira, Russia

Bira is an urban-type settlement in Obluchensky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. Population: 4,176 ; 4,311 ; 4,111 ....
, Nayfeld
Nayfeld

Nayfeld is a types of inhabited localities in Russia in Birobidzhansky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, located from Birobidzhan. One of the early Jewish settlements in the area, it was founded in 1928....
, Londoko, Birakan and Birofeld
Birofeld

Birofeld is a types of inhabited localities in Russia in Birobidzhansky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is an early Jewish settlement, which was founded in 1928 when a large kolkhoz was established in the area....
 with the Jewish Community of Birobidzhan. Together they inspected local cemeteries and gathered information about the Jews buried there in the years prior to World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. The names of these individuals are listed in the Memory Book in the Birobidzhan Synagogue. The dates of birth and death are written down according to the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar or Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar used by Jews, now predominantly for religious purposes. It is used to reckon the Jewish New Year and dates for Jewish holidays, and also to determine appropriate Torah reading of Torah portions, Yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses....
 as well as the Gregorian
Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas....
. As of 2007, some of the original Jewish settlers were still present in these villages.

Leadership in the 21st century

Jews have historically played a role in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast's Jewish Community
Kehilla

A kehilla or kehillah is a Jewish community. In pre-World War II Europe, all towns or cities with a Jewish population had one communal organisation, or occasionally more....
, historical narrative
Historicism

Historicism refers to philosophy theories that include one or both of two claims:# that there is an organic succession of developments, a notion also known as historism , and/or;...
 and government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
. In 2004 Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar
Berel Lazar

Rabbi Berel Lazar is an Orthodox Judaism rabbi affiliated with the Chabad Hasidic Judaism movement. He is presently one of two claimants to the title "Chief Rabbi of Russia", is the chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities....
 took part in the 70th anniversery celebration for the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Rabbi Lazar and Avraham Berkowitz, the Executive Director of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS
Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS

Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS was created in November of 1998 to unite efforts aimed at restoring Jewish life, culture and religion in the post-Soviet states....
, led a delegation to Birobidzhan for the event. Local Jewish Community leaders; Mayor Alexander Vinnikov, Lev Toitman and Valery Solomonovich Gurevich also participated in the opening of the Birobidzhan Synagogue, which marked the 70th anniversary of the region.

Birobidzhan Synagogue

The Birobidzhan Synagogue
Birobidzhan Synagogue

The Birobidzhan Synagogue was established in 2004. The synagogue is in the city of Birobidzhan which is the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, an Autonomous oblasts of Russia....
 was established in 2004 in the city of Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan

Birobidzhan is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Trans-Siberian railway, close to the border with the People's Republic of China, and is the home of two synagogues, including the Birobidzhan Synagogue, and the Jewish religious community of the...
. It was "the first synagogue
Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer.Synagogues usually have a large hall for prayer , smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices....
 in Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 to be built partly with state money," according to the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS
Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS

Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS was created in November of 1998 to unite efforts aimed at restoring Jewish life, culture and religion in the post-Soviet states....
.

Beit T'shuva

Beit T'shuva
Beit T'shuva

Beit T'shuva is a synagogue also known as "Birobidzhan's old synagogue." The structure, located in the Russian city of Birobidzhan, is a Siberian-style wooden house....
 is a small Jewish community located in Birobidzhan's old synagogue. The rabbi is Boris "Dov" Kaufman. As of 2005, the religious services have been strictly Jewish and no longer include a blend of Christian and Jewish traditions.

World's largest menorah

For the Chanukah celebration of 2007, officials of Birobidzhan in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast claimed to have built the world's largest menorah
Menorah

The menorah , is a seven-branched candelabrum which has been a symbol of Judaism for almost 3000 years and is the emblem of Israel. It was used in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem in Jerusalem....
.

Jewish settlements in the JAO

  • Amurzet
    Amurzet

    Amurzet is a types of inhabited localities in Russia in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia, located from Birobidzhan. It is the administrative center of Oktyabrsky District, Jewish Autonomous Oblast....
  • Bira
    Bira, Russia

    Bira is an urban-type settlement in Obluchensky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. Population: 4,176 ; 4,311 ; 4,111 ....
  • Birakan
  • Birobidzhan
    Birobidzhan

    Birobidzhan is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Trans-Siberian railway, close to the border with the People's Republic of China, and is the home of two synagogues, including the Birobidzhan Synagogue, and the Jewish religious community of the...
  • Birofeld
    Birofeld

    Birofeld is a types of inhabited localities in Russia in Birobidzhansky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is an early Jewish settlement, which was founded in 1928 when a large kolkhoz was established in the area....
  • Danilovka
  • Londoko
  • Naifeld
  • Smidovich
    Smidovich

    Smidovich is an urban-type settlement and the administrative center of Smidovichsky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. Population: 5,720 ; 5,905 ; 6,646 ....
  • Valdgeym
    Valdgeym

    Valdgeym, or Waldheim is a types of inhabited localities in Russia in Birobidzhansky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. Valdgeym was the place where the first kolkhoz was established in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast....


Jewish leaders of the JAO

  • Alexander Vinnikov
    Alexander Vinnikov

    Alexander Vinnikov is a Russian politician....
     - mayor of Birobizhan
  • Valery Solomonovich Gurevich
    Valery Solomonovich Gurevich

    Valery Solomonovich Gurevich is a Russian politician....
     - Vice-Chairman of the JAO
  • Lev Toitman
    Lev Toitman

    Lev Grigorievich Toitman, , was a soldier in World War II . Toitman is known for the, "foundation and revival of the local Jewish community" in Birobidzhan....
     - Chairman for Birobidzhan's 4,500 member Jewish Community (Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS). Died in Septemder 2007
  • Rakhmil Leder - succeeded Lev Toitman as Chairman of Brirobidzhan's Jewish Community Freud
  • Mordechai Scheiner
    Mordechai Scheiner

    Mordechai Sheiner has been Chief Rabbi of Jewish Autonomous Oblast since 2002....
     - Chief Rabbi of JAO
  • Boris "Dov" Kaufman - Native JAO rabbi


See also

  • History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union
  • Administrative divisions of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
    Administrative divisions of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast

    *Cities and towns under autonomous oblast's jurisdiction:**Birobidzhan *Districts:**Birobidzhansky District ***with 6 rural okrugs under the district's jurisdiction....
  • Amur Bridge Project
    Amur Bridge Project

    The Amur Bridge Project was announced in 2007 by Valery Solomonovich Gurevich, the vice-chairman of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. He stated that China and Russia might start construction of the first railway bridge over the Amur River at the end of 2007....
  • Birobidzhan Jewish National University
    Birobidzhan Jewish National University

    The Birobidzhan Jewish National University works in cooperation with the local Jewish community of Birobidzhan and the Birobidzhan Synagogue. The university is unique in the Russian Far East....
  • Birobidzhaner Shtern
    Birobidzhaner Shtern

    The Birobidzhaner Shtern is a newspaper published in both Yiddish and Russian in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Russia. It was set up in the 1930s in Birobidzhan to cater for the newly arrived Jewish immigrants....
  • Birobidzhan Synagogue
    Birobidzhan Synagogue

    The Birobidzhan Synagogue was established in 2004. The synagogue is in the city of Birobidzhan which is the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, an Autonomous oblasts of Russia....
  • David Bergelson
    David Bergelson

    David Bergelson was a Yiddish language writer. Ukraine-born, he lived for a time in Berlin, Germany. He moved back to the Soviet Union when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany....
  • Israeli settlement
    Israeli settlement

    Israeli settlements are communities inhabited by Israelis in territory that was captured during the 1967 Six-Day War. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank, which is partially under Israeli military administration and partially under the control of the Palestinian National Authority, and in the Golan Heights, which are under Isr...
  • Mikhail Kalinin
    Mikhail Kalinin

    Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the titular head of state of the Soviet Union from 1919 to 1946. Though only four years older than Joseph Stalin, Kalinin was celebrated as Dedushka by the Young Pioneers....
  • Semyon Dimanstein
    Semyon Dimanstein

    Semyon DimansteinDimanstein was born in Sebezh, Pskov oblast in a Jewish family of a trader. He studied in a Chabad yeshiva where eighteen-year Semyon ordained his rabbinate....
  • Beit T'shuva
    Beit T'shuva

    Beit T'shuva is a synagogue also known as "Birobidzhan's old synagogue." The structure, located in the Russian city of Birobidzhan, is a Siberian-style wooden house....