(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The fight for the possession of the Great Synagogue in Kiev, the most beautiful of the synagogues in the Ukraine, was lost by the worshippers in favor of the Jewish communists, just on the eve of the High Holidays.
The Synagogue, which has a capacity of 1.800, was ordered converted into a workingmen’s club, as a result of a petition of two thousand Jewish workers in the city of Kiev.
The fight between the Yevsektzia, the Jewish section of the Communist Party, and the pew holders of the synagogue lasted for three years. Previous decisions to convert the synagogue into a club were annulled twice by higher Communist authorities.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.