News

Earlier this summer, ESJF held a field camp on Jewish cemetery preservation in Kryzhopil, bringing together students from across Ukraine. Over three days, they explored the Jewish cemeteries in the nearby village of Zhabokrych, where ESJF installed a fence last year, and in Kryzhopil itself. After examining the old wall around the cemetery in the […]

In Kovel, Volyn region, hundreds of matzevot have been moved to a new storage site. The tombstones were rescued by the Jewish community of Lutsk around 15 years ago and come from one of Kovel’s Jewish cemeteries that was destroyed in the 20th century. In recent years, the matzevot had been stored on the premises […]

Our Educational Projects Officer, Alexandra Fishel, spoke about the methodology behind ESJF educational programmes at the International academic conference “Jewish Communities of Ukraine in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Period.” A central goal of our educational activities is to help people understand what a Jewish cemetery represents, not simply as a burial site, but […]

Students and alumni of the local school learned about what a Jewish cemetery is, who is buried there, and why it is important to care for and protect these sites. They also learned how to interpret symbols on matzevot and calculate dates of death written in Hebrew. Students from the Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Jewish […]

The village of Orynyn is located in the Kamianets-Podilskyi district of the Khmelnytskyi region, in the historic area of Podillia. Before the Second World War, Jews made up nearly half of the town’s population. After the Wehrmacht occupied Orynyn, more than 1,700 Jews from the town and surrounding villages were murdered in a single day. […]

It brought together 24 students from across Ukraine and took place in Kryzhopil and Zhabokrych (Podolia). For most participants, this was their very first encounter with Jewish cultural heritage, and especially with Jewish cemeteries. Throughout the camp, participants attended lectures and workshops on the region’s multicultural heritage, its Jewish past, and its surviving Jewish heritage. […]

The Butsni Jewish cemetery is now protected by a metal fence, becoming the first Jewish cemetery in the Khmelnytskyi region that ESJF has fenced this year with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office. The exact date of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. The oldest surviving gravestone inscription dates to 1749, while the […]

During the event, participants explored the various legal statuses of cemeteries, discussed whether changes to these statuses are necessary, and examined how such changes can affect the preservation of cultural heritage. The speakers shared practical experience, explained procedures for changing legal status, and reflected on the challenges and opportunities involved in these processes. Recordings of […]

The cemetery has existed since at least the mid-18th century, and around 70 gravestones are still preserved there today, with the oldest dating back to the 1750s. The fencing project at the site was funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. Jews lived in Kupyn from the early 18th century, and possibly even earlier. By […]

ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative invites young people to take part in a three-day field camp dedicated to the research and preservation of Jewish cemeteries. During the camp, participants will take part in practical workshops and lectures on Jewish history and heritage in Ukraine, conduct field research at the Jewish cemetery in the village of […]

We have completed the installation of a protective fence at the Jewish cemetery in Luchynets, Vinnytsia region, which is the first Jewish cemetery in Ukraine fenced this year. At the same time, fencing work is currently underway at several other cemeteries across the country. Jews have lived in Luchynets since at least the early 18th […]

Join us for an online event dedicated to the legal protection of Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine. When: May 20, 18:00-20:00 Where: Zoom Language: Ukrainian During the event, participants will learn about the different legal statuses of cemeteries, whether changes to these statuses are necessary, and how such changes can affect the preservation of cultural heritage. […]