The World's Main "Menorah"

In the third year of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, accusations of "Nazism" against the Ukrainian people, government, or political forces by Russian propagandists and officials no longer even provoke a smile, like an old joke repeated in a loop.

Following the Russian propagandists, these accusations are picked up by "useful idiots" serving the Kremlin in Europe and the USA. For instance, in the spring of 2024, during heated debates over providing military aid to Ukraine and Israel, prominent Republican Senator Marjorie Taylor Greene stated that linking aid to Israel to funding "Ukrainian Nazis" was anti-Semitism and advocated for separating the bills. Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine, Yaakov Dov Bleich, responded to Greene's speech on social media platform X, noting that the only Nazis in Ukraine are the Russian occupiers.

"There are no Nazis in Ukraine, only Russian occupiers. Russia targets Christians in occupied Ukraine. The Russian army has destroyed over 400 Baptist churches."

It is hard to imagine more absurd accusations (and a more absurd pretext for war) than the "denazification" of one of the most tolerant states towards Jews (where even the current president is Jewish). If desired, one can provide an endless number of arguments debunking Russian propaganda theses. For example, the annual pilgrimage of Hasidim from around the world to the Ukrainian city of Uman, to the grave of Tzadik Nachman, on the eve of the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah. In 2018, the number of pilgrims reached 100,000, but even after the full-scale invasion in 2022, the pilgrimage did not cease.

While Kremlin propagandists and representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry spew venom, inventing new reasons to accuse Ukraine of "Nazism," we simply invite everyone to see the opposite by visiting the city of Dnipro, home to the world's largest Jewish cultural and business center "Menorah."

The "Menorah" Center (chief architect Andriy Sorin), opened in 2012 on the initiative of the Dnipro Jewish community, as well as the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, with the participation of Chief Rabbi of Dnipro Shmuel Kaminezki, has become one of the city's main attractions over the years, not only for Jews but also for all foreign tourists. At the opening of the "Menorah," the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Shlomo Amar, was personally present, which also does not align with the chauvinistic propaganda narratives of the Russians.

Photo: "Golden Rose" choral synagogue, Source: Menorah-center

The "Menorah" is a unique complex where secular institutions coexist with religious ones. The business center itself consists of seven towers, representing the Temple Menorah, with a total area of over 50,000 m². The tallest tower-candle has 22 floors, and an observation deck is located on the roof of the sixth tower, offering a panoramic view of the old part of Dnipro. The complex also includes the "Golden Rose" choral synagogue, and the architectural ensemble is complemented by the "Pcholkin House" - a restored century-old mansion of a merchant from Katerynoslav (the old name of Dnipro), which has the status of an architectural monument. The mansion is used for various secular events, from weddings and banquets to exhibitions and cultural events.

Photo: "Pcholkin House", Source: Menorah-center

As a demonstration of the symbolic and spiritual connection with the Promised Land, the first floor of the complex, the "Gallery," is made of marble and specially crafted Jerusalem stone for the "Menorah," which is like an extension of the Jerusalem Western Wall. The walls are adorned with 12 facades of old Katerynoslav (the name of Dnipro at the beginning of the 20th century), featuring male and female schools, synagogues, Jewish bakeries, and shekel exchange points, and other places related to the cultural and everyday life of the Jewish community of Dnipro. The first floor also houses office spaces, shops, cafes, restaurants, and an information and tourist center where one can book a tour or purchase souvenirs.

Photo: The walls in the "Gallery", Source: Menorah-center

Additionally, the "Menorah" cultural and business center has two hotels: the 4-star "Menorah" Hotel and the 2-star city hotel "7 Days" - the only hotels in Eastern Europe that operate under the Shabbat system.

Beyond spiritual nourishment, which we will discuss separately below, the "Menorah" houses the "Menorah Grand Palace" banquet and restaurant complex - the first restaurant in the city to fully adhere to kosher rules in the preparation of Jewish and European cuisine, as well as delicacies from various world cuisines.

However, perhaps the main gem of the "Menorah" complex is its museum component, namely the "Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine" Museum. This unique museum is the largest museum of Jewish history in Ukraine and the third largest memorial complex in the world dedicated to the Holocaust. The museum consists of four main halls:

"World Destroyed by the Holocaust" - dedicated to Judaism and the spiritual world of the Jewish people, the exhibits there tell about key events in Jewish history from the 18th-20th centuries (including mass repressions of the 1920s-30s and the Holodomor of the 1930s).

"Holocaust" - here you can learn about the formation of true Nazi ideology in 1930s Germany and note many parallels with the formation of Putin's ideology in modern Russia. The exhibits in the second hall recreate the tragic and horrific history of the attempt at the "final solution to the Jewish question" in the lands of Ukraine. Several stands in the hall are dedicated to Jewish resistance to the Nazis and the activities of the Righteous Among the Nations.

"World After the Holocaust. Jewish Culture" - the main place here is occupied by an exhibition dedicated to the "Tragedies of the 20th Century," and the main idea of the exhibition is "There is no foreign pain." This hall presents exhibits and documents related to the Armenian genocide of 1915, the deportation of Crimean Tatars and other peoples of Crimea in 1944, the Volyn tragedy of 1943, as well as other dramatic events of the last century, including a permanent exhibition opened in 2018 dedicated to the tragedy of the Roma people in Ukraine and Moldova during World War II. A separate section is dedicated to the events of Ukraine's recent history, including Euromaidan, the Anti-Terrorist Operation, and Russian aggression against Ukraine.

"Clocks that Saw the Past" - this hall features a private collection of unique antique clocks from the 18th - early 20th centuries. Each exhibit has its own history connected to past events, the Soviet period, and the years of World War II.

Photo: Entrance to the "Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine" Museum, Source: Wiki

In addition to display cases with exhibits, the Holocaust Museum also features multimedia installations, holograms, video and audio recordings, including a unique archive of interviews collected by the Steven Spielberg Foundation in Eastern Europe and handed over to the museum.

After such a museum tour in front-line Dnipro, even the most ardent sceptic will understand that, unfortunately, the Nazi plague was indeed not defeated in the 21st century, but the center of this plague is now not in Ukraine, but in Moscow, the capital of today's main aggressor state on Earth.