The historic structure of the synagogue in the city of Bakhmot in the Donbass, which in the last two months has become the main front in the Russian war in Ukraine, was damaged by Russian bombing.
This is a 150-year-old building that was used by the Jewish community until 1923 (for some of them), when it was nationalized by the communist government as part of its fight against religion.
The building has since changed hands and was used commercially, but the small local Jewish community often visited it and it is recognized as a historic Jewish building even among the non-Jewish residents of Bahmot.
Bakhmot, which, as mentioned, has been at the center of the battles between the Ukrainians and the Russians for the past two months, is located in the Donetsk region whose capital that bears his name has been in the hands of the separatists since 1974.
Until the Second World War, every fourth resident of the city was Jewish and there were two synagogues in the city, the largest of which was the one that was damaged in the bombings. The World War wiped out the community in the city and in recent years, until the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, there were only about 50 Jews in Hamot, out of less than 80 thousand residents.
In the “Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine” they say that most of the Jews managed to leave the city before the fighting began and that contact with the rest was lost and their situation is unclear. About 60 percent of the city’s infrastructure was destroyed, as well as a large number of buildings.
“We had a tiny community, but a strong and united one,” said Vitali Dobrov, president of the Jewish community in Behemoth, which kept the embers of Jewish life alive with the help it received from the “Federation”. According to Dobrov, “It is so painful to see our city turn into ruins. While almost all members of the community were evacuated earlier, some families decided to stay, unfortunately, we have not been able to contact them recently, we pray for their safety every day.”
the rabbi Meir Stambler, the chairman of the federation says that several synagogues were damaged in the east of the country by the Russian bombings. “Communities in the Donbass region were very badly damaged by the war, to the point where it is doubtful that it will be possible to restore them, but we are doing our best to help our brothers in the battle zones as well.”
after the shelling
A view of the synagogue building before the shelling
View of the synagogue building from the side before the shelling