Ukraine: Colourful wall paintings have been discovered in the one-time Beit Midrash in Illintsi, western Ukraine.  

Colourful wall paintings have been discovered in the one-time Beit Midrash, part of a former shulhoyf in Illintsi, in the Vinnytsia region of western Ukraine.  

JHE friend Vitalii Kamozin, the COO of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine (UJCU), reports that the paintings were discovered during renovation of the large brick building, which the Center for Jewish Art dates to around the year 1900.  It functioned as a grain mill after the Soviet regime closed it in around 1930.

The complex also includes the baroque style Great Synagogue, dating from the 18th century, which  was  damaged by fire in 2019. The Soviet regime also closed it around 1930, after which it was used as a furniture factory and carpentry shop, which Kamozin said still function despite the fire. 

Kamozin reported on Facebook last year that the head of the local Jewish community, Alik Lecher, had bought the Beit Midrash building. At that time murals were found on one of the walls. Now, during repair works, it has been discovered that murals were preserved in several other rooms.

Though in poor condition, photos show that they are Biblical scenes typical of those found in other synagogues in eastern Europe, such as the representation the tablets of the Ten Commandments, and of musical instruments hanging on trees as an illustration of Psalm 137, which has the lines “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion/We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.” (King James version…)

Komozin told JHE that restorers will examine the paintings in early July to assess them to see how much work would be required to restore or conserve them.