{"id":6086,"date":"2017-02-21T23:43:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T23:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/?p=6086\/"},"modified":"2018-05-29T03:26:09","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T03:26:09","slug":"two-thousand-years-ukrainian-jewish-relations-explored-exciting-series-new-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/two-thousand-years-ukrainian-jewish-relations-explored-exciting-series-new-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Thousand Years of Ukrainian-Jewish Relations Explored in an Exciting Series of New Books"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UJE presents a collection of new books on Ukrainian-Jewish relations in Tel Aviv. From left to right: Alti Rodal, UJE Co-Director; Wolf Moskovich, Professor Emeritus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, UJE Board Member; Paul Robert Magocsi, University of Toronto, Chair of Ukrainian Studies, UJE Board Member; Vladyslav Hrynevych, Ukraine\u2019s National Academy of Sciences, UJE Academic Council Member; Liudmilla Hrynevych, Ukraine\u2019s National Academy of Sciences, UJE Academic Council Member.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The publication of a series of books supported by the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter have provoked vibrant debates and discussions in recent months as their authors and editors have appeared before engaged audiences at public venues throughout the world.<\/p>\n

The books, The Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: Cultural Dimensions<\/em>, Babyn Yar: History and Memory,<\/em> and Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence<\/em>, were all published in 2016. Each volume individually explores often unknown and sometimes surprising chapters in the Ukrainian-Jewish relationship. Collectively, however, these works provide a starting point to better understand proximity and distance in the communal and personal interactions between Jews and Ukrainians, two peoples that for nearly two thousand years have inhabited the vast territory that comprises modern-day Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: Cultural Dimensions<\/em> is based on presentations given at a UJE-sponsored conference in Jerusalem in 2010, which brought together leading scholars to explore aspects of Ukrainian-Jewish cultural interaction, mutual representation, and memory.<\/p>\n

Co-edited by Wolf Moskovich, Professor Emeritus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and UJE board member, and UJE Co-Director Alti Rodal, the book investigates the complex and varied cultural interaction between the Ukrainian and Jewish communities from the seventeenth century to the present. The book appears as Volume 25 in the series Jews and Slavs, <\/em>which has been published by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem since 1993. The goal of the series has been to deepen understanding of the relationship between the Jewish and Slavic peoples. Five volumes in the series have been dedicated to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The book was presented at two conferences recently in Israel. The co-editors underlined the importance that culture played in the relationships between the Ukrainian and Jewish communities. Cross-cultural influences have long been evident, both in the religious and secular spheres, in art, architecture, music, folklore, and language.<\/p>\n

\u201cA central premise of this collection of essays is that a focus on culture illuminates important aspects of the Ukrainian-Jewish relationship generally missed in political and historical accounts that tend to leap from crisis to crisis,\u201d Rodal noted in introducing the volume. \u201cCultural interaction unfolded over time through daily, diverse, and localized encounters that had an enduring impact on both communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

In literature, Ukrainian writers depicted the daily routines and peculiarities of their ethnic counterparts, as well as those of Jews. Yet significantly impacting their works was the Bible and biblical motifs, both given to them by the Jews, said Moskovich.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sons of Ukraine have made a very substantive input into world culture and among the culture of the Jews,\u201d he said. \u201cAs for Jewish input into Ukrainian culture, the most important thing is the fact that the Jewish people gave the Bible to the world and you will find in this series of books descriptions of works of Ukrainian literature that are based on Biblical motifs. The most important Ukrainian writers, such as Taras Shevchenko<\/a>, Ivan Franko<\/a>, and Lesia Ukrainka<\/a> wrote outstanding works where the heroes were the Jews of Biblical times.\u00a0 Jews gave to the Christian world the Bible and the Old Testament. And among the nations that received this heritage were Ukrainians, who built the basis of their classical literature and culture on Biblical images.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moskovich noted that the book addresses the cultural interaction of Ukrainians and Jews not only in early periods but also particularly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.<\/p>\n

One of the great cultural figures of the twentieth century who impacted both Ukrainians and Jews was the Kyiv-born Ukrainian artist Alexander Archipenko<\/a>. \u00a0A master of Cubism, Archipenko became known for his unique style, referred to as sculpto-painting. \u00a0Moskovich noted that the Tel Aviv Museum of Art<\/a> hosts one of the world\u2019s largest collections of Archipenko's work.<\/p>\n

\u201cCulture,\u201d said Rodal, \u201cshapes so many key aspects of life, develops over long stretches of time, and brings to light the long periods of normal coexistence, the broader context in which these cultures developed, and the complexity and multifaceted nature of the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, she noted the importance of acknowledging the tragic episodes in the Ukrainian-Jewish relationship in the past in order to open avenues for strengthened mutual trust and understanding in the future.<\/p>\n

Tel Aviv Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t