An academic conference on the history of Ukrainian Jewry was held at TAU with the support of the EAJC.

On May 12, Tel Aviv hosted the inaugural academic conference of the Research Center for the History of Ukrainian Jewry at Tel Aviv University. The event was organized by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine (JCU) and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC). The conference was attended by prominent Israeli scholars from the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center at Tel Aviv University, including Professor Roni Stauber, Dr. Judith Kalik, and Dr. Alex Valdman, alongside EAJC Director General Dr. Haim Ben Yakov and first EAJC Vice-President and JCU President Boris Lozhkin.

The participants and organizers emphasized that under current global circumstances, the study of the history of Ukrainian Jewry has acquired particular relevance. The researchers focused on the economic history of the Jewish population and business cooperation between Jews and Ukrainians during the 16th to 19th centuries. 

For instance, researchers presented data indicating that up to 70% of alcohol production in Ukraine during this period was manufactured and distributed with Jewish participation. The development of Ukraine's railway and municipal transport is equally illustrative: the introduction of Kiev's first electric tramway—the tenth in Europe and the first in the Russian Empire—was largely funded by Lazar Brodsky, a prominent late 19th and early 20th-century patron of the arts and philanthropist.

The Research Center for the History of Ukrainian Jewry at Tel Aviv University was established in 2021 by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, with the support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. The primary objective of the initiative is to conduct objective, non-political research into the history of Jewish communities specifically within Ukraine, utilizing archival documents and verified historical facts.

“Jewish presence on Ukrainian soil spans several centuries. The Kiev Letter, discovered in the Cairo Genizah, indicates that Jewish communities inhabited Kiev as early as the 10th century. There remains an extensive range of subjects and perspectives that require rigorous academic scrutiny to deepen our understanding of this history,” commented EAJC Director General Dr. Haim Ben Yakov.