The festival of Passover commemorates the Exodus of Jews from Egypt over three thousand years ago. The timeless and universal message of this holiday is that slaves can go free, and that the future can...
1. Jewish Immigrants Arriving on the Prairies “Canadian immigration policy gave British and North Europeans prime preference and gave central and eastern Europeans, which included Jews, second class preference. Often, Jews didn’t get even...
William Kurelek (1927-1977), one of Canada’s most celebrated and well-loved artists, has left behind a remarkable legacy of paintings and books, and has been the subject of a number of documentaries, beginning with a ten-minute...
Interactions between Ukrainians and Jews over the centuries have been extremely complex and fraught with considerable tensions. At the same time, there have also been many instances of strong personal friendships and cooperation between Ukrainians...
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (Shimshelevich) (1884-1963). President of Israel from 1952 to 1963. Born in Poltava. Moshe Sharett(Shertok) (1894-1965). Prime Minister of Israel from 1953 to 1955. Born in Kherson. Levi Eshkol (Shkolnik) (1895-1969). Prime Minister of Israel from...
Personalities in the Performing Arts who are of Ukrainian-Jewish Background Theodore Bikel (b. 1924). Versatile actor of film, stage, and television, as well as a multilingual folk singer and musician. Bikel is a master of languages...
DID YOU KNOW THAT both ethnic Ukrainians and Jews originating from Ukrainian lands have created significant diaspora communities in the same lands of resettlement, in particular in Canada and the United States?
DID YOU KNOW THAT a significant majority of Ashkenazi (basically, those of European origin) Jews alive today have their origins in lands that constitute modern-day Ukraine?
The presence of Jews on the territory of Ukraine dates to antiquity. Hellenized Greek-speaking Jews first settled in Crimea in Panticapaeum (today’s Kerch) in the first century BCE. Archaeological findings attest to the presence of...
Hanukkah starts on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasts for eight days. This year on the Gregorian calendar it starts on November 27 and ends on-December 5. Hanukkah is a joyous holiday, celebrated...
Ukrainians and Jews have lived as neighbours for centuries, creating and sharing enduring cultures that continue to inform their identities today. Ukrainian Jewish Encounter (UJE) is proud to present Part 1 of an integrated narrative of these two peoples in the belief that there is much to be gained by viewing their historical experience together, in all its complexity.
Since its launch in September 2022, the UJE Timeline has earned international recognition by winning eight international awards:
The 'Encounter' prize aims to build on the common experiences of Ukrainians and Jews over the centuries, expressed in literature and nonfiction. The Prize will be awarded annually to the most influential work in literature and nonfiction (in alternate years) that fosters Ukrainian-Jewish understanding, helping solidify Ukraine's place as a multi-ethnic society and giving truth to the motto, "Our stories are incomplete without each other."
The goal of the richly illustrated catalogue is to present an integrated narrative that looks at the experience of these two peoples together, in all its complexity — through periods of crisis, as well as long stretches of normal co-existence and multifaceted cultural interaction from antiquity to 1914.
