Anatevka (village)

In 2014, Ukraine was invaded by Russia. In response to the invasion, which displaced tens of thousands of people (including thousands of Jews), Anatevka was established on a plot of empty land, near Kyiv. The project was overseen by Chief Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, leaders in both America and Ukraine, and Chaim Klimovitsky. The name was inspired by the famous fictional shtetl of Anatevka from the 1964 Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. The village was created in order to serve as a safe community for refugees, offering them housing in furbished apartments, access to a Jewish education system, healthcare and mental health support, and community events. [2]

Over the ensuing years, the village grew to include apartments which housed refugee families. The community also came to include a kindergarten, a first through tenth grade school (called Mitzvah 613), a Cheder (a traditional Jewish elementary school), a soccer field, a playground, a kosher hotel, and other Jewish infrastructure including a synagogue and a mikveh.[3]

Refugees gather in the Anatevka Refugee Village

Monument to 26 Iyar on the square of the same name

Hotel

In response to the Russian invasion in 2022, given Anatevka’s strategic position away from Russian attack targets, the village quickly became a staging ground and operational headquarters for humanitarian efforts. Many refugees were evacuated through Anatevka, stopping there for a warm meal or immediate medical care before continuing on to the Moldovan border.[4]

The Ceremonial Building of Anatevka