(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
A decline in the affiliation of Russian Jews with the synagogue and Jewish religious and communal activities is to be observed in the Ukraine, according to a census taken by the Soviet authorities in the district of Mariupol.
According to the figures of the census in the entire district of Mariupol only 1554 Jewish men and women are members of the Kehillahs. Of these, the authorities assert, 1326 are illiterate or uneducated, 234 are what is termed “semi-educated” and only 8 possess high education. Only 67 members of the Kehillah in this district are between 18 and 20 years of age. Of the 4,000 Jewish persons who live in this district only 220 are members of the Kehillah. The affiliation of the Jewish youth with the synagogue in the towns in this district amounts to 4 percent; in the villages there is no synagogue affiliation among the youth. Among those between the ages of 20 and 30, there are only 17 persons affiliated with the synagogues.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
