By Andrew Lapin
A Russian missile strike caused “significant damage” last Sunday, July 23, to Hillel International’s offices in Odesa, Baltimore’s sister city in Ukraine.
It was the second time that a Hillel building in Ukraine was damaged by Russian fire since the start of the war last year. Its chapter in Kharkiv was destroyed by Russian shelling last year.
The international Jewish life organization — which operates on college campuses and supports young adult non-students in some places, including Ukraine — shared news of the damage on social media Tuesday. It said the missile had destroyed the office’s door and windows, and that the ceiling collapsed but no one was in the building at the time.
“I do hope we will be able to restore programs as soon as possible,” said Osik Akselrud, director of Hillel’s Central Asia and Southeastern Europe regions, in a statement. Hillel also shared a brief video appearing to show a construction crane already present on the scene working to repair the damage.
One day before the bombing, Hillel Odesa shared photos of its recent Havdalah activity, a post-Shabbat celebration in which students imagined a “Jewish city of the future.”
On Monday, July 24, The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore posted on social media: “The Russian missile attacks on our partner city of Odesa have brought devastation and claimed precious lives. Odesa’s Jewish Community Centers were in close proximity to the missile strike but fortunately have been spared from any direct damage. Regrettably, the Hillel building experienced some damage to its windows and doors. Our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our community members. We are in contact with Oksana Nelina, our Baltimore-Odesa Partnership Coordinator, to receive updates on the safety of our community members. …
“We are grateful to be part of a network of Jewish organizations that are on the ground across the world, provide us with insight and allow us to respond when needed. We pray for peace in Ukraine in the days ahead and pray for unity in our global Jewish world.”
Hillel Kharkiv — which last year mourned the death in combat of a Ukrainian Jew who had been active there — has continued offering active programming in the past year, and recently celebrated Lag b’Omer.
Hillel operates several centers in Ukraine with the support of Jewish philanthropies including the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Schusterman Family Philanthropies. It also operates in eight Russian cities.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, has at times used the threat of damage to Ukrainian Jewish sites to rally world Jews to the war effort. But as at other times when Jewish sites have suffered damage, the most recent bombardment in Odesa appeared to be indiscriminate and also damaged other Ukrainian historic sites.
One person was killed during the most recent strike in the city, which before the Holocaust was one of the largest Jewish population centers in the world.
Andrew Lapin is the managing editor of local news for the JTA global Jewish news source. Jmore staff contributed to this report.
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