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The Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subject of Russia in the Russian Far East, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast in Russia and Heilongjiang province in China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan.
Birobidzhan is a town and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway, near the China–Russia border. As of the 2010 Census, its population is 75,413, and its official language is Yiddish. Birobidzhan is named after the two largest rivers in the autonomous oblast: the Bira and the Bidzhan. The Bira, which lies to the east of the Bidzhan Valley, flows through the town. Both rivers are tributaries of the Amur.
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest population of Jews in the world. Within these territories the primarily Ashkenazi Jewish communities of many different areas flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of anti-Semitic discriminatory policies and persecutions. Some have described a "renaissance" in the Jewish community inside Russia since the beginning of the 21st century. Today Russia's Jewish population is still among the largest in Europe.
Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (FJC) is a Jewish organisation dedicated to restoring Jewish life, culture and religion in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the former Soviet Union. The FJC was founded on August 1, 1997, with sponsorship of Ohr Avner Foundation.
Shlomo Dov Pinchas Lazar, better known as Berel Lazar, is an Orthodox, Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi. He began his service in Russia in 1990. Known for his friendship with Vladimir Putin, since 2000, he has been a Chief Rabbi of Russia, and chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia and Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS. In September 2005 Lazar became a member of the Public Chamber of Russia. Because of his connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin he is sometimes called "Putin's rabbi."
The Birobidzhaner Shtern is a newspaper published in both Yiddish and Russian in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Russia. It was set up in November 1930 in Birobidzhan to cater for the newly arrived Jewish immigrants. It is the oldest national newspaper in the region.
Adolf Solomonovich Shayevich is a Soviet and Russian Orthodox rabbi who has been the rabbi of the Moscow Choral Synagogue since 1983, which is traditionally regarded as Moscow's main Jewish house of prayer.
Mordechai Sheiner is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi associated with the Chabad Hasidic movement. Sheiner served as Chief Rabbi of Jewish Autonomous Oblast from 2002 to 2011.
Sholem Aleichem Amur State University, formerly Birobidzhan State Pedagogical Institute, is a university in Russia. This is the only university based in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. It is named after Jewish-Russian author Sholem Aleichem.
Nikolay Mikhaylovich Volkov is a Russian politician.
Alexander Aronovich Vinnikov is a Russian politician and formerly the governor of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.
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.
Nayfeld is a village (selo) in Birobidzhansky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, located 40 kilometers (25 mi) from Birobidzhan. One of the early Jewish settlements in the area, it was founded in 1928.
Birofeld is a village (selo) in Birobidzhansky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is an early Jewish settlement, which was founded in 1928 when a large collective farm was established in the area. In 2003, a Jewish Book Festival took place here. In 2006, Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Mordechai Scheiner, visited Birofeld with the Jewish community of Birobidzhan. As of 2007, some of the original Jewish settlers still lived here.
Yiddishkeit is a Russian documentary television show concerning the subject of Yiddishkeit. Since 2005, when the show had begun taking its current format, it is edited by Tatyana Kadinskaya, directed by Natalya Kaper and filmed by Oleg Veksler. The former Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Mordechai Scheiner, and his wife, Esther Scheiner, were often guests who hosted parts of the show. Before 2005, various programs related to Yiddish and Jewish subjects were regularly broadcast by the local television without a specific name.
The history of the Jews in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO), Russia, began with the early settlements of 1928.
Boris "Dov" Kaufman is a native Birobidzhan rabbi. Rabbi Kaufman has been a part of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast's Jewish community through its transitions from the 1990s into the 21st Century. His congregation has been transformed, as has he, from practicing a blend of Jewish and Christian religious practices to mainstream Judaism. Rabbi Kaufman is the leader of Beit T'shuva, a small Jewish community located in Birobidzhan's old synagogue.
Beit T'shuva is a synagogue located in the Russian city of Birobidzhan. The oldest synagogue in the city, having been established in 1986, it is sometimes referred to as "Birobidzhan's old synagogue". While for years, the congregation's religious services included a blend of Christian and Jewish traditions, in 2005, under its leader of many years, Rabbi Boris "Dov" Kaufman, it underwent a transformation to become a "strictly Jewish" synagogue without any Christian influence.
The Organization for Jewish Colonization in Russia, commonly known by its transliterated acronym of ICOR, was a Communist-sponsored mass organization in North America devoted to supporting the settlement of Jews in new collective settlements, firstly in the newly established Ukrainian Soviet Republic and Southern Russia, and latterly in the Jewish socialist republic of Birobidzhan in the Soviet Union. The organization was founded in the United States in 1924 and soon spread to Canada.
References
- ↑ A Jewish revival in Birobidzhan? In Stalin's former Jewish haven, locals say ground is ripe for rebirth Archived 2011-05-10 at the Wayback Machine Jewish News
- ↑ Jewish Life in Birobidjan, Russia Archived 2008-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Federation of Jewish Communities
- ↑ Russia's Jewish Republic Revived Archived May 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine . JTA
- 1 2 Far East Community Prepares for 70th Anniversary of Jewish Autonomous Republic Archived 2011-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Federation of Jewish Communities
- ↑ Remote Russian Jews Get Synagogues Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Federation of Jewish Communities
- 1 2 Far East Jewish Community Chairman Passes Away Archived 2008-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Federation of Jewish Communities
- ↑ From Tractors to Torah in Russia's Jewish Land Archived 2013-04-11 at the Wayback Machine Federation of Jewish Communities
- ↑ Jewish Cemeteries Catalog for Birobidjan Archived 2011-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Federation of Jewish Communities
- ↑ International Yiddish Summer School Opens in Birobidzhan Archived 2008-01-08 at the Wayback Machine VOSTOK MEDIA
- ↑ Birobidjan Jews Get High Tech Gift From Chinese Sister City Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Federation of Jewish Communities
- ↑ Jewish Library Gets Helping Hand in Birobidjan Archived May 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Federation of Jewish Communities