PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRE
The broad anthropological perspective that we assume in this research reflects itself in our extensive questionnaire, which attempts to embrace issues such as our informants’ pre-war Jewish identity, their attitude to Israel and immigration, their vision of the political developments in the independent Ukraine, their stance to the present-day Israeli political and social landscape. As of now the questionnaire consists of roughly 150 questions, but it’s being modified depending on the changing political situation.
In brief, the project questionnaire consists of 5 thematic sections:
“Jewish traditions.” Questions of this section focus on the degree to which the informants upkeep the Jewish religious and cultural traditions and their Jewish self-identification more broadly. In particular, we aim to find out, how our informants’ Jewish identity is inscribed into Ukrainian language and culture over the last three decades, i.e., after Ukrainian Declaration of Independence in 1991.
“Political context.” Questions of this section aim to gauge the degree, to which our informants were participating in the social, cultural and political life of the independent Ukraine, their view of various political developments that took place in the country since 1991, their assessments of Ukrainian political leaders, their views on Russian-Ukrainian relations before the war, their attitudes to the events on Maidan in 2014, Russian annexation of Crimea, formation of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic.” Specific attention will be paid to how these political changes impacted the Jewish life in Ukraine.
“Jewish immigration from the USSR/ Ukraine before the war with Russia.” Here we plan to look at the informants’ views of Jewish immigration to Israel (or other countries) over a fairly long period of time, at their arguments “pro-” and “contra-” immigration, and at the impact that the earlier knowledge/experience of immigration produced upon their current choice of Israel as the country of exodus.
“The Russian-Ukrainian war.” This section contains questions on whether the war was expected, on the informants’ immediate experience of it, on their evacuation/ flight from Ukraine to Israel, on the changes of their attitude to the Russian and Ukrainian leadership, on the Russian propaganda, on reasons and outcomes of the war and future relations between Russia and Ukraine.
“Life in Israel as a refugee/ repatriate.” Finally, we will look at ways, in which our informants are integrating into Israeli life, as well as at how the Israeli experience is shaping their Jewish identity and national self-consciousness.
We aim at recording 100 in-depth interviews and make them accessible both through the National library of Israel and the J-Doc project created by the Nadav Foundation.
QUESTIONNAIRE – FULL VERSION
PART I: GENERAL CONTEXT
JEWISH TRADITIONS
Were any of the Jewish traditions/ holidays observed/ celebration in your home? (e.g. Shabbat, Pesach, yorzait, Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, etc.). What did you do on those days, how were holidays celebrated? Was there a family member who read prayers, lit the candles, etc.? Was matzoh brought to your home? If so, when, who and where from brought it? Did you have seder in your home, and if yes, describe it. Was Jewish food cooked in your home (which dishes do you remember, how were they called, who cooked them, was it emphasized that this food is Jewish)? Was kashruth kept in your home, even if in a reduced way? Were any male members of the family circumcised, whether openly or secretly? Which attitudes did this act provoke among various immediate/ extended family members? How were names chosen for the newly born babies in the family? Which cemetery were family members buried at? Were there any religious rituals observed at funerals? How does the grave look like? Were there any Jewish religious objects kept at home, Jewish “cultural” objects (books, vinyl plates, etc.), or else objects that were seen as “Jewish” (e.g., family heirlooms passed from previous generations). Was Yiddish spoken at home, and if so, in which situations? Was Yiddish passed down to younger generations, and if not, then how would you explain this?
How much were you involved in the Soviet Jewish tradition? (e.g., visited the synagogue, Jewish concerts, celebrated Jewish holidays in a circle larger than your family, read Jewish literature, etc.). What happened after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in the independent Ukraine? How did your Jewish self-consciousness change in relation to various political events (in Ukraine, Russia, Israel, probably in other countries as well) that you witnessed or heard about? Were you a member of any Jewish organization (Jewish religious community, local Chesed, Jewish choir, etc.) Did your (grand)children go to a Jewish kindergarten, Jewish school or Jewish cultural organizations? Did they travel to Israel as part of Jewish youth programs?
Which language is closer to you, Ukrainian or Russian? Do you know Ukrainian, can you speak it? Which language do you use more often in your family, at work, with other people?
Which culture do you see as more your “own,” Ukrainian or Russian? How are these perceptions typical of your family members, of your Ukrainian Jewish friends, people of your cultural “circle”? How important is the knowledge received in the last decades for the way you answered?
POLITICAL CONTEXT
What changed in the Jewish life of your city/town after Ukraine became independent?
Did the attitude to you, your family members, your Jewish friends, etc. change on the part of non-Jewish population? Can you compare the level of anti-Semitism (state-, popular) in the Soviet time and in the independent Ukraine? What is your take on the popular opinion that historically the level of anti-Semitism was higher in Ukraine as compared to Russia?
What is your attitude to the Orange Revolution of 2004, to President Victor Yushchenko, to Yulia Timoshenko? Did your life change after the Orange Revolution, and if yes, then how?
Under the former President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko one could observe a growing heroization of Stepan Bandera and his associates; many monuments were erected in various localities, especially in Western Ukraine. What is your attitude to this process? Did it produce any fears of the growing anti-Semitism in Ukraine?
What was/is your attitude to the former Ukrainian Presidents – V. Yanukovitch and P. Poroshenko? (Compare the material level of life under different presidents, political changes, cultural developments, etc.). Have you ever heard rumors about the Jewish origin of P. Poroshenko and about his father, a clandestine Soviet entrepreneur? What is your attitude to these rumors?
What is your attitude to the events on Maidan in 2014 and the change of Ukrainian government? Do you see these events as the expression of popular political will, or as a state coup?
What was your attitude to the annexation of Crimea, and how do you see this event now?
Which impact did the political events mentioned above (and, possibly, other events as well) produce upon the Jewish life of your city/town?
JEWISH IMMIGRATION FROM THE USSR/ UKRAINE BEFORE THE WAR WITH RUSSIA
Were your family members discussing the possibility of immigration before or after 1991? What was the reaction of different family members to this possibility? (e.g., who was the “driving force” of this idea, was there any resistance on the part of some people, what were the arguments “for” and “against” immigration?)
What were the major motives for the possible immigration (economic, religious, anti-Semitism, etc.)? What role did the desire to become part of broader Jewish life play in it?
Which country did you regard as your possible destination? What were arguments “for” and “against” Israel in particular?
Why did you eventually decide to stay in Ukraine? (For those who did repatriate, but then came back: Why did you decide to return back to Ukraine?)
If you have relatives or friends in Israel, did you visit them before the war with Russia?
PART II: THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR
IIa. Factual part
Did you (your family, people you know) perceive any political tension at the end of 2021 – beginning of 2022? Did you hear any rumors about the possible Russian aggression – or else the beginning of the war was largely unexpected for you? How did Jews react to such rumors, was the Jewish reaction any different from the non-Jewish one? Would you say that Jews started discussing the possibility of immigration more actively during his time?
Describe how you learned about the beginning of the war, what was happening to you in the first days of the aggression.
Can one say that “Jewish networks” became more active with the beginning of the war, both on the personal and on the institutional levels (e.g., people started helping each other to survive, evacuate, immigrate, etc.)?
Can one say that Jews felt more or less vulnerable with the beginning of the war as compared to other groups of population? (e.g., less vulnerable precisely due to the possibility of immigrating to Israel any time, or more vulnerable with regard to the collective memory of anti-Semitism, persecutions, pogroms, the Holocaust?)
Did you happen to get under shooting of the Russian or Ukrainian armies? Did you happen to occur on the territories occupied by the Russian army? How important was your ethnic origin at the time under occupation (in terms of behavioral strategies, ethnic ties that helped survive, etc.)?
Did you come across cases of cruelty and violence on the part of the Russian army? Your attitude to the information about mass killings of civilians in Ukrainian cities and towns, as well as who is to blame for that.
Did you keep a diary during the war? Did you use social networks to share your thoughts about what was going on?
How did you evacuate from Ukraine, and how did you get to Israel? Has it happened so that your family had to split, and part of it stayed in Ukraine, others went to other countries, and only one part/you came to Israel?
Do you consider yourself a “refugee,” an “immigrant,” or some combination of both? What is required for you to overcome this and start feeling like an Israeli citizen?
What did you take along when you left Ukraine (describe the content of your suitcase(s)). Did you select only the most vital things, or did you also take family pictures, family heirlooms, etc.? Did you specifically take documents proving your Jewish origin?
IIb. Analytic part
What is your attitude to Vladimir Zelensky, and whether it changed after the beginning of the war? How important (for your personally and in general) is the fact that he is of Jewish origin? Did you discuss this issue with your family, friends?
What is your attitude to the declaration of the Russian government on Nazi leadership of Ukraine, on the oppression of the Russian-speaking population (particularly, in Donbass and Lugansk regions)?
What is your attitude to the Ukrainian language law declaring Ukrainian as the state language? Do you think that this law discriminates the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine?
Did you ever come across a situation when state or private offices in Ukraine would not render their services if a person spoke Russian, or would not respond in Russian?
What was your reaction to S. Lavrov’s allegation on “Hitler’s Jewish roots” and its various interpretations? (e.g., how anti-Semitic is this idea, how is it inscribed in the Holocaust agenda and contemporary political realities, etc.).
What in your opinion (and in the opinion of those you now close) is the reason for the war? Which aims did the Russian government pursued when it started the war, pursues now, and how these aims were changing over time?
Which other countries will experience negative consequences, even if indirectly, of the war? (e.g., countries dependent upon Ukrainian food export; countries that allowed Ukrainian refugees to come; Western countries, etc.).
Was the war against Ukraine V. Putin’s final aim, or can he launch a war against other countries?
Do you think the nuclear war is possible?
What was your attitude to V. Putin before the war, and what is it now? What is your attitude to the idea that by launching the war Putin like nobody else helped to finally form and consolidate the Ukrainian nation?
How long, do you think, will the war last, and how will it end? Who, do you think, will win the war? Who will benefit from it? How do you see the role of other countries to the war (for instance, the “old” Europe – Germany, France, Italy; former socialist countries; USA and Great Britain). How do ways, in which these countries see the post-war political order in the world impact their current participation in the war?
Your own vision of Ukraine’s future after the war? Do you think relations between Ukraine and Russia have a chance of ever returning to the normal tracks?
Do you expect Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine for material and moral damage?
How do you see people’s life (in particular, that of the Jewish population) on the Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia?
Your attitude to the Russians before the war and now. Your take on the notions of “collective guilt” and “collective responsibility”?
According to multiple polls, the majority of Russian population supports the war. What is your attitude to this information? Why do Russians support the war?
Did you have a chance to talk with friends or relatives in Russia? What is their attitude to the war? Do they believe what you tell them about it?
Your attitude to the idea to the introduction of the “passport of a good Russian”? Have you heard about the initiative to introduce the “Nansen passport 2.0” for those Russian and Belorussian citizens who live abroad and wish to disassociate themselves with the politics of the Russian government? What do you think about these initiatives?
How do you Russia’s future for the next years/ decades?
In your opinion, what will happen to the Russian language and culture in Ukraine in the next years/ decades?
Apart from personal experience and oral communications, what are your major sources of information on the war? Which programs or channels to you watch (Ukrainian, Russian, American, others)? Which of the present-day analysts (Russian, Ukrainian, others) do you see as most informative, most thorough in their analysis of the situation (e.g., A. Arestovich, D. Gordon, R. Svitan. O. Zubkov, V. Pastukhov, V. Shenderovich, A. Pionkovsky, Yu. Latynina, E. Albats, etc.)? Do you watch Israeli TV? If you do this both in Russian and in Hebrew, do you see any difference in how materials are presented and analyzed?
IIс. Life in Israel in the status of a refugee/ new ole/ola
Please, describe your today’s life in Israel. Who helps you with various bureaucratic steps (e.g., getting of the Israeli passport, medical insurance, etc.) and everyday survival? Do you consider this help sufficient, or not?
Did you stay with relatives, friends, or at a place provided by the state of Israel?
Did you keep old ties/ created the ones with the people who found themselves in a similar position? Do you cooperate to cope with the changing circumstances?
Did you happen to meet Jews who came to Israel after February 24 from Russia? Describe, your communication, your feelings, topics discussed, etc.
Have you been to Israel before, and if not, what in particular draws your attention/ surprises/ irritates you?
Are you trying to find a job in Israel (according to your qualification, any job)?
Have you started learning Hebrew if you didn’t learn it before? Who helps you with this?
Did you participate in the celebration of the Jewish holidays after your arrival (e.g., Purim, Pesach, Day of Independence, Lag BaOmer, Shavuot)? Describe your impressions. If you celebrated any of those in Ukraine, describe, how different they are here.
Does the fact that you are now living in a Jewish state provoke any thoughts about your own Jewishness, about the Jewish life in the USSR or Ukraine, about Zionism?
Did you have a chance to communicate with non-Ashkenazic/ non-Russian speaking/ Orthodox Jews in Israel? How do you see the significance of this communication for your Jewish self-understanding, of the Jewish nation-building, internal and external politics of the state of Israel, the role of the religious tradition in Jewish life, etc.?
What are your plans, when the war is over? Will you try to stay in Israel, or do you admit of the possibility that you might return to Ukraine? Do you consider other countries as well?
If your town/ city in Ukraine, which you left during the war, becomes part of Russia, will you return there for permanent residence? Or will you return to the Ukrainian territory free from Russian control?
Were you asked any of the questions that we spoke about earlier? Who and in which situation? Were these academic, journalist, or other interviews? Did people ask you about your experience of the last months here in Israel?