Ohr Avner Foundation

History

While Jewish life in the countries of the former Soviet Union has existed for centuries, religious persecution reached new depths under 72 years of Communism. Jews who tried to uphold their faith and their traditions were harassed and often arrested, tortured and condemned to hard labor or executed. The remaining communities were decimated by World War II - bombardment, famine and, above all, the Holocaust wiped out three million Soviet Jews and left the rest shattered and forlorn. By the end of the 20th Century, Jewish life had all but ceased, and even those few who practiced Judaism in secret were left with little knowledge of their rich cultural and religious heritage.

The

Veterans of the Underground who remained, Jewish leaders who emerged after the fall of Communism and dozens of rabbis sent by Chabad-Lubavitch began building a new infrastructure of synagogues, community centers and day schools throughout the vast territory stretching through ten time zones. The latent embers kept alive by the Jewish underground movement burst into flames to restore literally hundreds of Jewish communities.