Traditions of Jewish Studies at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy have roots in the 17th century. Jewish Studies became a comprehensive academic discipline only in the 19th century, however, their subjects were largely the subject of Hebrew Studies, including studies in the Hebrew language, history, and the Holy Writ. According to Professor Valeria Nichyk, “Studies in Jewish history, language and tradition were established in this educational institution by its founder Petro Mohyla. In the post-Renaissance period, nobody could be seen as an educated and cultural person without being competent in Hebrew, Latin and Greece. Studies of Hebrew were mostly undertaken for academic and educational needs, as it was necessary for studying and interpreting the Bible, which was among the most important topics of academic studies during the Humanism and Reformation epochs”. (Нічик В. Симон Тодорський і гебраїстика в Києво-Могилянській академії. – К.: Видавничий дім «КМ Академія», 2002. – С. 13–14).

After the old Academy was closed, Hebrew Studies continued within its walls while the Kyiv Academy of Theology was functioning therein (1817–1917). In the Soviet period, especially after the 1948th, neither Hebrew nor Jewish Studies could develop properly. Both Modern and Ancient Hebrew were associated with Zionist and Jewish nationalism by Communistic ideology, and thus forbidden to be taught.

Only after the Soviet Union disintegrated, Jewish Studies had finally been resumed, now in independent Ukraine. During the 1990s, a Judaic Department opened in the International Solomon University of Kyiv, a private educational institution. It persisted as the most notable centre of Jewish Studies until the early 2000s. After a short lull in Jewish studies, it had been supplanted by the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, renewed in the early 1990s, which professed an intent to revive the best traditions of the previous centuries and to establish a modern and competitive centre for teaching and researches in Jewish Studies.

An Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Jewish Studies was launched at NaUKMA in 2003. The program allowed students of NaUKMA and other universities of Kyiv to take a special set of courses at the Faculty of Humanities. Leading Kyiv specialists in Jewish Studies participated in the program. The first graduation was held in 2006; by 2012, the program already had 35 certified graduates, and over 120 students pursued particular courses from 2003 to 2012. In 2008, due to efforts of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities (VAAD) of Ukraine, which has been a reliable partner of NaUKMA from the very beginning, all the necessary facilities and equipment for functioning and development of Jewish Studies at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy were provided. Two classrooms with up-to-date equipment for studies and a library opened for students and researchers.

In 2006, the Centre for Studies of the History and Culture of East European Jews opened under the aegis of NaUKMA. During the past 6 years it prepared and published (jointly with the university publisher Dukh i Litera) dozens of books important for Jewish Studies, and became a Ukrainian leader in this field. One of the most important recent publications was the Ukrainian translation of the Oxford Textbook on Jewish Studies, The Jewish Civilization, which can be used by any student interested in the field.

Finally, in 2010, NaUKMA President Serhiy Kvit initiated preparation for the launch of the first Ukrainiaan two-year Master’s Program in Jewish Studies, opened by a decision of the NaUKMa Senate in May, 2012. A few months later, the first admission exams to the Program were held. The launch of the Program was made possible through the support of a well-known Canadian philanthropist and a long-time friend and partner of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, James C. Temerty. Currently, the Program is functioning as a specialization in Jewish Studies within the Master’s Program in History. Nevertheless, the task for the nearest future is to obtain a license, and to launch Jewish Studies as a separate comprehensive major for the first time in Ukraine.

To further develop Jewish Studies, the NaUKMA is planning to establish connections with leading foreign centres in the field and to provide a solid platform for research. For this purpose, the representatives of the NaUKMA Jewish Studies department develop communications and cooperate with their colleagues in Israel, USA, Canada, Russia, and other countries. This year, the Academy began a dialog for endorsing an agreement on cooperation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the leading Jerusalem HEI which has been keeping its positions in the Top-100 world’s universities for the previous 10 years.

Additionally, a NaUKMA alumnus and professor of the Department of History Vitaliy Chernoivanenko initiated publication of the first Ukrainian periodical on academic Jewish Studies "Judaica Ukrainica," which is to start publication this year. The periodical will have international status, an expert editorial board of well-known scholars from different countries, and will undergo independent review. The articles will be published in three languages.

As we can see, Jewish Studies today is one of the priority directions of NaUKMA development.  Jewish Studies is not just a sign of liberal education, but also is a necessary part of a modern European university.

Oleksiy Khamrai, Doctor of Philology, Head of Master’s Program in Jewish Studies at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy