Mordechai Scheiner - On Judaism in The JAO

On Judaism in The JAO

Concerning the status of Judaism in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Chief Rabbi Mordechai Sheiner has stated, "Jewish life is reviving, both in quantity and quality." In 2006, Rabbi Scheiner visited the villages of Bira (Jewish Autonomous Oblast), Naifeld, Londoko, Birakan and Birofeld with the Jewish Community of Birobidzhan. Together they inspected local cemeteries and gathered information about the Jews buried there in the years prior to World War II . The names of these individuals are listed in the Memory Book in the Birobidzhan Synagogue. The dates of birth and death are written down according to the Hebrew calendar as well as the modern calendar. As of 2007, some of the original Jewish settlers were still present in these villages.