Lo Tishkach, the massive Jewish cemetery survey and database project, has announced expanded research and documentation of Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Jewish VAAD umbrella group.
Beginning in early June, the VAAD will start surveying the vast regions of Lviv Oblast and Poltava Oblast throughout the summer months. Data and thousands of photographs from surveys of over 300 sites undertaken by Lo Tishkach in Ukraine will be processed and uploaded to the Lo Tishkach database, and published by the end of 2013 in both English and Russian.
Lo Tishkach has long been involved in survey work with the VAAD-supported Centre for Jewish Education in Ukraine. Since 2009, the CJEU has surveyed Kiev, Cherkasy and Zakarpattia oblasts as well as acting as a vital research and training resource for similar LT projects in Odessa, Dniepropetrovsk, Kharkov and Chernihiv Oblasts and in the Baltic States.
Lo Tishkach is delighted that through the support of the EAJC, and its Council Chair, Josef Zissels, we are now able to expand this work into the areas of historically very large Jewish populations in Western and Central Ukraine.