Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., December 03, 2008 Kislev 6, 5769 | | Israel Time: 18:24 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File
Wooden crosses seen on a plot designated for the construction of a synagogue in the Ukrainian city of Poltava. (COL)
Ukraine rabbi: Nationalists try to foil synagogue construction with wooden crosses
By The Associated Press
Tags: Jewish World, Jews, Ukraine 

A Jewish leader in Ukraine accused nationalist activists Tuesday of trying to halt construction of a synagogue by erecting crosses on the land.

The synagogue is to be built in the central-eastern city of Poltava, once a thriving center of Jewish life before the Holocaust.

Poltava's Chief Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Segal said activists identifying themselves as Ukrainian patriots were seeking to stir religious tension last month by placing seven wooden crosses on the plot of land allocated for the Jewish house of prayer.
Advertisement
He said the activists told him there was no need for a synagogue in Poltava.

"This is horrible," Segal said, calling the crosses an insult on the Jewish community. "They come into your house without asking, and they do what they want."

City authorities declined to comment Tuesday.

The new synagogue would be the first in Poltava since World War II, when the city's 10 or more synagogues were destroyed. Segal said construction of the synagogue, funded by the local and global Jewish community, would begin within months and be finished in two years.

Before the Holocaust, nearly 20 percent of Poltava's 100,000 population was Jewish, according to Segal. The population has since grown to 300,000, but only 3,000 - or 1 percent - are Jews.

Jewish groups say that anti-Semitism persists in the predominantly Orthodox Christian country, with little respect being given to Jewish cemeteries and memorial sites.

Segal said he believes the activists planted the crosses in an effort to provoke a response from the Jewish community, and removed them Monday when no response was given.

Segal said the activists earlier had also planted a viburnum tree, a symbol of Ukraine, on the construction site - an act ignored by the Jewish community.

Related articles:
  • Residential construction project damages Jewish cemetery in Ukraine
  • Remaining Jews in Russia, Ukraine 'proud to be Jewish'
  • Ukraine President orders return of 700 confiscated Torah scrolls
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    A U.S. warning
    The Indian government faces accusations of intelligence failures after the attacks.
    Mistaken Identity
    Peres' handshake with Egypt's Grand Sheik is raising a few eyebrows.
      1.   Ukraine 20:12  |  RonH 02/12/08
      2.   To RonH 20:20  |  Observer 02/12/08
      3.   Not very sophisticated 20:23  |  Colin Wright 02/12/08
      4.   Such vitriol! 20:58  |  hollingsworth 02/12/08
      5.   These Ukrainian nationalists sounds likes the Israeli Settlers. 21:15  |  JustMe 02/12/08
      6.   Disgusting and childish 21:33  |  hala 02/12/08
      7.   Colin Wrong 21:33  |  judith 02/12/08
      8.   #5, JustMe...this is astonishing!! 22:40  |  Silvienne 02/12/08
      9.   #5 #8 23:40  |  jeff 02/12/08
      10.   If they come into your house without askin and do what they want 23:41  |  Nat 02/12/08
      11.   RE: Justme and Silvienne 23:57  |  judith 02/12/08
      12.   #9, jeff.... 00:27  |  Silvienne 03/12/08
      13.   Wrong Hollingsworth ... they were "athiests" 01:03  |  GZLives 03/12/08
      14.   Hey don `t the Israelis do this? 02:10  |  The Hague 03/12/08
      15.   Disgusting behaviour! 02:21  |  Magnus K. 03/12/08
      16.   You call them "Activists?" 03:02  |  Josh 03/12/08
      17.   Sounds like West Bank 04:01  |  Ephraim 03/12/08
      18.   RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 06:07  |  John Isenhower 03/12/08
      19.   #11 judith: of course I condemn this act and SIMILAR act... 09:00  |  JustMe 03/12/08
      20.   #11, judith, please don`t even bother... 18:16  |  Silvienne 03/12/08
      21.   #17, Ephraim, indeed it does! 18:21  |  Silvienne 03/12/08
     Read & React
    Bradley Burston / The Jihadi as Nazi, from 9/11 to Mumbai
    Responses: 123
    IDF declares Hebron `house of contention` a closed military zone
    Responses: 83
    Amira Hass: Hamas sacrificing Islamic religious rite to keep its iron grip on Gaza
    Responses: 27
    Experts urge Obama to negotiate with Iran, advance Syria peace
    Responses: 63
    Palestinian seriously hurt in Jerusalem stabbing; says Jews attacked him
    Responses: 50
    Rabbi, priest and imam pray together for rain on Kinneret
    Responses: 25


    More Headlines
    17:32 Hebron settlers: Police threw stun grenades at us
    16:32 Peres on Hebron violence: Settlers who attack IDF soldiers are attacking all of Israel
    18:12 Report: Argentina to halt trade with Iran over Jewish center bombings
    14:12 Palestinian seriously hurt in Jerusalem stabbing, says Jews attacked him
    16:45 Israeli Arab leaders vow to sail to Gaza to break blockade
    16:56 JEWISH WORLD / Obama must help Israel break its territorial addiction
    18:19 Egyptian official: We won't let Hamas found an Islamic emirate in Gaza
    15:39 Three Qassams hit west Negev, further unraveling Gaza truce
    16:54 The Jihadi as Nazi, from 9/11 to Mumbai
    13:13 Autopsy on 4-year-old 'backs grandfather's initial confession'
    07:26 Rabbi, priest and imam pray together for rain on Kinneret
    16:57 Jordan and EU launch joint anti-terrorism project
    16:17 Police find, defuse explosives at Mumbai train station
    12:02 Congress panel: 'Dirty bomb' attack on U.S. likely by 2013
    07:24 Senior Iranian commander leads Hezbollah drill in south Lebanon
    13:23 Iran's Ahmadinejad acknowledges economy in danger
    14:06 Rightist MK Yitzhak Levi announces resignation from politics
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Israeli Style
    Summer in Israel
    Living in Israel Studying in English
    Click & Meet our students from all around the world
    Fattal Hotel Chain
    Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
    Car rental in Israel
    Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Israel's Premier Real Estate Website
    www. israel-property.com
    Hebrew Summer courses
    From $39.95
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
    Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
    birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved