KJF 2020: With the support of Boris Lozhkin, Tel Aviv University has created a project for the Ukrainian and Jewish studies

KJF 2020: With the support of Boris Lozhkin, Tel Aviv University has created a project for the Ukrainian and Jewish studies
10/09/2020

Simha Goldin, Director of Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center in Tel Aviv University (studies the history and heritage of the Jewish people and their culture in the diaspora in all areas) announced during the Kyiv Jewish Forum 2020 that a new project for the Ukrainian and Jewish studies is being launched.

“I am very pleased to announce the creation of a new project at the center – the initiative of the Ukrainian and Jewish studies. This has become possible thanks to the generous support of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. I would like to especially thank Dr. Haim Ben Yakov, Inna Ioffe and Mr. Boris Lozhkin for their help and dedication in creating this project,” Goldin said.

According to him, the purpose of the Ukrainian-Jewish research initiative is to study the history and culture of Jews in the Ukrainian lands from the ancient times to the present days. The relations between the Jewish and the non-Jewish communities, in which they existed, will be examined.

“Before the revolution, Ukraine was one of the main centers of Jewish life and culture of Judaism in Eastern Europe,” Goldin noted.

According to him, almost all major events in the Jewish history of Eastern Europe took place namely in Ukraine. At the same time, relatively few studies have focused specifically on the history of those communities and the specifics of the Ukrainian context that made those communities so productive and dynamic.

“The project of the center is aimed at recognizing the importance of studying the uniqueness of the Jewish community of Ukraine and its rich history,” said the Director of Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center in Tel Aviv University.

As previously reported, Kyiv Jewish Forum-2020 was held online on September 8-9. The forum was organized by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine in partnership with the Jerusalem Post. On the first day of the forum, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the participants with a welcoming speech. According to the JCU President Boris Lozhkin, the annual Kyiv Jewish Forum has become a global platform for discussing the most relevant issues of the Jewish community and the whole world.