"The easiest thing in the world is to leave, to quit," he says, his voice rising with frustration. "But there will always be Jews in Birobidzhan, and we must make it possible for them to have a normal spiritual life. Someone must be here to take care of those who stay."
Who will fill the void is a question with real resonance in Birobidzhan, where in the last seven years more than 6,000 Jews have left the city, emigrating to Israel, the US, Canada and Germany. For those that are left, the lines of debate have been drawn: Stay in the city and help revitalize Jewish culture? Or get out, and help the rest of the Jews in the city get out, while the time is ripe?
It is a debate that touches on a number of deeper questions: What does it
mean to be Jewish? How does one define "homeland"? Is a person responsible to
himself, his family, or his community above all?