Ukrainian Jewish Encounter Initiative (UJE)
Brief Overview
For centuries, the territory of modern-day Ukraine was a meeting ground for diverse and flourishing cultures, and the dwelling place of one of the oldest and most populous Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. That community, consisting predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews, lived alongside the indigenous Christian Ukrainian population through long periods of normal co-existence and multi-faceted cultural cross-fertilization. But at times, relations were strained by acts of violence and antipathy generated in the complex environment of successive dominating empires and states. Both peoples also experienced migrations and the dynamics of the diaspora, often in the same lands of resettlement. Following a shared, long-standing experience of powerlessness and statelessness, and great suffering under oppressive totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, both peoples are today forming modern identities in and in relation to the independent modern states of Israel and Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Jewish Encounter is an initiative founded on the belief that these two peoples have much to gain by better appreciating their joint and each other’s historical experience in all its complexity.
WHO WE ARE
The Ukrainian Jewish Encounter (UJE) is a privately organized, multinational initiative conceived and launched in 2008 as a collaborative project engaging Ukrainians of Jewish, Christian, and other heritages, in Ukraine and Israel as well as in the Diasporas. Its work engages scholars, civic leaders, artists, governments, and the broader public in an effort to promote stronger and deeper relations between the two peoples.
OUR MISSION/PURPOSE
To deepen understanding of the breadth, complexity, and diversity of Ukrainian-Jewish relations over the centuries, with a view to the future. More specifically, to enable the two peoples to:
- Understand each other’s historical experience and narratives;
- Address embedded stereotypes;
- Promote mutual awareness of the extended periods of peaceful co-existence, cooperation and cross-cultural interaction;
- Provide historical context for the periods of crisis, in particular the Shoah and the corrosive effects of totalitarian Communism and the evils of Nazism on territories that are now Ukraine;
- Take appropriate action to honour the victims of Nazism, and of Soviet rule; and
- Contribute to strengthened national identities on the basis of greater Ukrainian-Jewish understanding and mutual respect.
WHAT WE DO
UJE’s focus is on three main, mutually supportive sets of activities:
- Development of a “shared historical narrative” that engages leading scholars and experts from around the world to produce a truthful and insightful account of the relationship over the centuries;
- Creation of a range of products and events to reach wide audiences in Ukraine, Israel and the Diasporas - including web-based resources, a high-quality travel guide to Ukraine treating its Jewish history and culture, books on relevant themes, multi-media exhibits, podcasts, educational materials, and documentary films;
- Advocacy on issues that have the potential of addressing deep historic wounds, including the protection and consecration of mass graves, and raising awareness about non-Jewish Ukrainians who helped or saved Jews during World War II.
UJE activities are carried out in a highly collaborative manner, utilizing networks of acknowledged experts and respected institutional partners, and leveraging existing initiatives.
PROGRESS
Historical Scholarly Initiatives
- Creation of a network of respected historians, writers, and other experts that is working cooperatively and continues to expand its reach.
- Expert conferences addressing:
The State of Ukrainian-Jewish academic research (University of Toronto, 2008);
Ukrainian-Jewish history and relations from the 16th century to 1921 (Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria, June 2009);
The Interwar period, including the Holodomor Famine and the Great Terror of the 1930s (Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire, UK, December 2009);
Cross-cultural influences in music, art, architecture, language, as well as mutual stereotypes embedded in the respective cultures (Jerusalem, Israel, October 2010).
- Panels on themes relevant to UJE’s mission:
"Image of ‘the other’ in Ukrainian and Jewish Literatures" (University of Toronto);
"Assessing the Past to Understand the Present" (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Kyiv, Ukraine);
Support for visiting speakers at the annual Danyliw Seminar (University of Ottawa);
Discussions and presentations at major scholarly conferences, including the Association for Jewish Studies, the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies and the Society for the Study of Nationalities.
Education
- UJE is animating and supporting the development of university level courses in Israel and Ukraine, including a pioneering survey course on Ukrainian-Jewish relations at the Hebrew University in 2010-2011.
Research
- While not a granting agency, UJE selectively supports research to advance its mission - including an international research project to identify and document stories of Ukrainians who hid or otherwise helped Jews during World War II.
- UJE provides a web forum to enable collaborative discussion and sharing of research among the UJE network of scholars/experts.
Public Engagement
- UJE participates in Jewish and Ukrainian cultural festivals in the Diasporas.
- UJE promotes the engagement of public authorities in discussion and treatment of UJE themes and objectives.
- An interactive, effectively linked public website is being launched to serve as a portal or “go-to-place” for everyone interested in Ukrainian-Jewish relations, past and present.
FUTURE PLANS
- Further conferences in the Shared Historical Narrative series are to address themes relating to World War II and the Shoah, the experience of postwar Soviet rule, and contemporary politics of history and memory;
- A UJE traveling event to reach wider audiences in Ukraine, Israel and the Diasporas, consisting of a combination of exhibits, multi-media products, public lectures and seminars, literary readings, films, musical and theatrical performances, as best suited to particular venues;
- UJE online course modules in cooperation with university programs in Europe and North America, and educational resources for wider dissemination;
- UJE support for extension of the “Virtual Shtetl Project” (an internet-based interactive historical tour of East European Jewish communities) to towns and villages in Ukraine; and
- A travel guide to Ukraine treating its Jewish history and culture.
Board of Directors
James Temerty, C.M., Founder and Chair
Adrian Karatnycky
Berel Rodal
Co-Directors
Alti Rodal
Adrian Karatnycky
Director of Operations
Raya Shadursky
Contact Information
contactus@ujencounter.org
Advisory Board
(in development)
Sen. Raynell Andreychuk
Timothy Garton Ash
Rabbi Yakov Bleich
Sir Andrew Burns, KCMG
Tony Comper
Irwin Cotler
Abe Foxman
Rt. Hon. Sir Martin Gilbert
Peter Harder
Myroslav Marynovych
Adam Michnik
Amos Oz
Arthur Sawchuk
Rt. Hon. John Turner