2015 NCSEJ Leadership Mission to Ukraine

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1 2015 NCSEJ Leadership Mission to Ukraine October 28 November 2, 2015 MISSION REPORT By NCSEJ Research and Community Outreach Coordinator Anna Chukhno 1 MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER ARSENIY YATSENYUK

2 From October 28 until November 2, 2015 NCSEJ brought together members of its Executive Committee and Board of Governors on a Leadership Mission to Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. The NCSEJ delegation included NCSEJ President Alexander Smukler, past Chairman Ed Robin, Executive Committee member Daniel Rubin, Board member Eileen Prusek, Executive Director Mark Levin, CEO and President of HIAS Mark Hetfield, and NCSEJ Research Coordinator Anna Chukhno. NCSEJ traveled to Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk at a critical time for the country. While ceasefire violations in Donbas in recent weeks have decreased, Ukraine continues to face threats of renewed violence in Eastern Ukraine, as well as economic and humanitarian crises. As a result of the war in Donbas, there are over 1.5 million of internally displaced persons in the country, many of whom are struggling to meet their basic needs. Inflation, rising prices and a growing cost of living are impacting the population as a whole, while those remaining in the separatist-occupied areas of Donbas receive no government pensions or social services, and have limited access to medical care and other essentials. At the same time, the Ukrainian government continues its reform initiative, in an effort to eliminate prevalent corruption and inefficiency in the country. The process has been difficult and has yielded mixed results. During this challenging time for Ukraine, the NCSEJ delegation had an opportunity to meet with members of the government, the Jewish community, volunteers, and youth activists to discuss these developments and their impact on the country s Jewish community. Embassy Briefings NCSEJ met with U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, who briefed the delegation on the situation in Ukraine. 2 WITH MR. WOLFGANG BINDSEIL, AMB. GEOFFREY PYATT, MR. VADYM PRYSTAIKO AND AMB. KEES KLOMPENHOUWER Ambassador Pyatt also hosted a meeting for NCSEJ with Ambassador of Netherlands in Ukraine Kees Klompenhouwer, Deputy Chief of Mission of Germany in Ukraine Wolfgang Bindseil, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

3 Vadym Prystaiko, as well as representatives from Ukraine s Jewish community, to discuss a range of issues, including the EU role in resolving the conflict in Donbas and EU assistance to Ukraine. Ambassador Pyatt commended efforts of the Ukrainian government to reform the country, but underscored several areas of concern that need to be addressed, including reforming the country s judiciary. While the process of doing away with entrenched oligarchic influence and overcoming decades of mismanaging the country is challenging, Ambassaor Pyatt emphasized U.S. commitment to helping Ukraine in this process. The NCSEJ delegation was hosted for dinner by Israel s Ambassador to Ukraine Eliab Byelotserkovski, who briefed NCSEJ on Ukraine-Israel relations, emphasizing the productive bilateral partnership. Ambassador Byelotserkovski also discussed the situation in Ukraine s Jewish community, security of Jewish institutions, continued increase in Jewish emigration from Ukraine, and commemoration of the 75 th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy in On October 28, NCSEJ Executive Director Mark Levin spoke at an Israel solidarity rally outside the Israeli Embassy in Kyiv, which was attended by over a thousand Ukrainians. Government meetings NCSEJ met with Ukraine s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who spoke about the government s progress on reforms, including in the energy sector, taxation and debt restructuring, as well as future steps to reform the judiciary. Prime Minister Yatsenyuk spoke about the conflict in Donbas, and U.S. 3 PRIME MINISTER ARSENIY YATSENYUK, ED ROBIN, DANIEL RUBIN AND assistance to Ukraine. ALEXANDER SMUKLER Prime Minister Yatsenyuk also discussed the broad government and Jewish community efforts to commemorate the 75 th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy in Other topics of discussion included the situation in Ukraine s Jewish community, anti- Semitism, and Ukraine-Israel relations. One of the issues raised by the NCSEJ delegation was increasing security for Jewish institutions in Ukraine, to prevent instances of anti-semitic vandalism, which have been occurring more frequently in recent months.

4 The NCSEJ delegation met with Jewish Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Groisman, Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee Hanna Hopko, and several Jewish members of the Verkhovna Rada. 4 HEAD OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA VOLODYMYR GROISMAN AND ALEXANDER SMUKLER NCSEJ also met with other high-level officials, including Ukraine s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, Head of Presidential Administration Borys Lozhkin, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Deputy Interior Minister Tigran Avakyan, and representatives from Ukraine s Security Services. 1 MEETING WITH FOREIGN MINISTER PAVLO KLIMKIN Issues raised included Ukraine s vote on the anti- Israel resolutions in the UN, the Babi Yar commemoration, humanitarian situation, and other issues important to Ukraine s Jewish community. 6 MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER YATSENYUK

5 11 DANIEL RUBIN WITH FOREIGN MINISTER KLIMKIN 10 MARK LEVIN WITH KYIV MAYOR VITALI KLITSCHKO 2 MEETING WITH HEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION BORYS LOZHKIN 8 MEETING WITH DEPUTY MINISTER OF INTERIOR TIGRAN AVAKYAN 12 AT THE RESIDENCE OF AMB. ELIAB BYELOTSERKOVSKI 7 MEETING WITH VOLODYMYR GROISMAN

6 Protection of Ukraine s Jewish institutions has been one of the issues continuously raised by NCSEJ, specifically establishing electronic surveillance and police protection for Jewish sites, including the Babi Yar memorial, which has been desecrated six times in recent months. The Ukrainian officials NCSEJ met with have vowed to look into the problem. Another recurring topic of discussion was the issue of corruption, which remains one of the biggest challenges for the country. Despite substantial changes to Ukraine s legal framework, the real challenge lies in effective implementation. The need for judicial reform continues to be a priority; progress on removing corrupt judges and prosecutors has been slow, impeding independence of judiciary and other anticorruption initiatives. NCSEJ visited the offices of HIAS and Right to Protection, which works in partnership with HIAS to provide legal counseling and other services to aid internallydisplaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine. Right to Protection Director Aleksandr Galkin briefed the NCSEJ delegation on the internal displacement in the country. According to Galkin, over 1.5 million people in Ukraine are registered as displaced. Despite government efforts to help IDPs, a wide-scale integration mechanism is missing, and many centers for refugees are overwhelmed and under-resourced. Many IDPs are struggling to meet basic needs, including for food, winter clothes, and medicine. The Jewish community The NCSEJ delegation was hosted for dinner by the Association of Jewish Communities and Organizations of Ukraine (VAAD), which gathered members of the Kyiv Jewish community, Jewish organizations, and prominent Jewish business leaders. 13 WITH CHIEF RABBI YAAKOV BLEICH NCSEJ visited the Kyiv Brodsky Synagogue, and met with Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Yaakov Bleich.

7 NCSEJ attended Shabbat services at the Hatikva Reform Synagogue in Kyiv, and had Shabbat dinner with several young Jewish activists who are actively involved with Hillel. 14 AT HATIKVA REFORM SYNAGOGUE NCSEJ met with representatives from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), who discussed the growing aliyah and the situation with the Jewish IDPs in Ukraine, as well as those who have stayed in areas of unrest. According to JDC Head in Ukraine Dani Gershkovich, over 7,000 Hesed clients remain in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Insufficient food and medicine is a problem for those who stay in the rebel-occupied areas. Rising electricity and heating prices are affecting populations throughout the country, but is especially challenging for IDPs and other vulnerable populations. JDC, JAFI, and local and international Jewish communities have stepped up efforts to help Ukrainian Jews in need. NCSEJ was briefed by Chair of the Monitoring Group for National Minorities Vyacheslav Likhachev and Co-coordinator Tatiana Bezruk on the state of anti- Semitism in Ukraine. According to their data, while anti-semitic violence in Ukraine has gone down, instances of anti-semitic vandalism have increased. In addition, they described a disturbing use of anti-semitic rhetoric by leaders of the separatist republics in Donetsk and Luhansk, and in activities of far-right armed groups in the Donbas. Dnipropetrovsk On November 1, the NCSEJ delegation traveled to Dnipropetrovsk, where they were hosted by Chief Rabbi of Dnipropetrovsk Shmuel Kaminezki. Dnipropetrovsk is home to the second-largest Jewish community in Ukraine, estimated between 30,000-50,000 people. Despite the crisis and armed conflict in the country, the Jewish community in Dnipropetrovsk is growing and remains very active. While Jewish emigration has grown, Jews from all over Ukraine have come into the flourishing Jewish community of Dnipropetrovsk.

8 15 DNIPROPETROVSK JEWISH YOUTH The Jewish cultural Menorah Center, opened in 2012, is the largest Jewish community center in the world. The center is a unique place that contains the Museum of Jewish Memory and Holocaust, an office complex, a hotel, shops and conference rooms, which connect to the Golden Rose Synagogue, the center of Jewish life in Dnipropetrovsk. Members of Dnipropetrovsk s Jewish community are active volunteers, working for many causes including helping Jewish and non-jewish IDPs. In Dnipropetrovsk, NCSEJ met with Jewish community leaders, young leaders, volunteers, and Governor of Dnipropetrovsk and member of the Jewish community Valentyn Reznichenko. NCSEJ also had a chance to meet with Boston Jewish community leaders Bob and Doris Gordon, who were visiting Dnipropetrovsk. 16 MARK LEVIN AND DORIS GORDON 17 GOVERNOR REZNICHENKO, RABBI SHMUEL KAMINEZKI, BOB AND DORIS GORDON

9 Partnership between the Boston and Dnipropetrovsk Jewish communities, launched in 1992 as part of a national effort by NCSEJ (then NCSJ: National Conference on Soviet Jewry), remains strong and productive. In partnership with the Boston Jewish community, many programs have been established for improving medical care and education for children with special needs, women, and the elderly, as well as to engage young Jews in Jewish learning. At the end of the trip to Dnipropetrovsk, NCSEJ was honored at a gala dinner at the Menorah center. Members of the delegation spoke at the gala, praising the incredible renaissance of the Dnipropetrovsk Jewish community, which Mark Levin called a model community, unique in its strength and unity, not only among Jewish communities in Ukraine, but elsewhere in world. 19 RABBI SHMUEL KAMINEZKI AND MARK LEVIN 18 DANIEL RUBIN SPEAKING AT THE DNIPRO GALA 20 MEETING WITH DNIPROPETROVSK JEWISH VOLUNTEERS

10 Conclusion The NCSEJ Leadership Mission to Ukraine gave NCSEJ an opportunity to raise many issues important to Ukraine s Jewish community and the State of Israel. The Jewish community of Ukraine is united in support of Ukraine s independence and reform, and is as active and engaged as it has ever been in Ukraine s history. Despite problems facing the country, members of the Jewish communities, volunteers, and civil society groups are working together to bring about change in the country, and support those in need who are feeling the repercussions of armed conflict and displacement. Challenges remain on Ukraine s path to transformation. Corruption and inefficiency are deeply entrenched, and bringing about change will require drastic structural reforms. Ukrainians have shown incredible determination to strive for democracy and change, but Ukraine also needs external assistance. Sustained U.S. support and engagement in Ukraine remains critical for ensuring that Ukraine succeeds. 21 DR. IGOR SHUPAK, BOB AND DORIS GORDON, RABBI SHMUEL KAMINEZKI, GOVERNOR VALENTYN REZNICHENKO, SVETLANA YERMAKOVA, ZELIG BREZ, OLEG ROSTOVTSEV, MEMBERS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY AND NCSEJ DELEGATION