22 Photos Of The Jewish Community Dealing With War In Ukraine

Despite a shaky cease-fire that was meant to put an end to months of war in its east, Ukraine remains riven by violence and upheaval. Photographer Joel Van Houdt spent weeks photographing the country's Jewish population and the latest chapter in its difficult history in the country.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A couple from Donetsk eats dinner at a Jewish guesthouse in Kiev.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A child talks to his teacher after a Ukrainian literature class at the Jewish school in Cherkassy.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

IDPs from Eastern Ukraine eat lunch at a Jewish camp in Shpola, near Cherkassy.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Pinchas Vishedsky, the chief rabbi of Donetsk, in Kiev. He fled Donetsk a month ago due to the war.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Children play at the Jewish school in Cherkassy in Central Ukraine.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Jewish IDPs from Luhansk sit outdoors at Shpola, a Jewish camp in Central Ukraine.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Hasidic pilgrims stock up on cigarettes ahead of the Jewish New Year in Uman in central Ukraine. Twenty thousand Jewish pilgrims came for the event.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Hasidic pilgrims chat near an outdoor bar near Rabbi Nachman's grave.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Jewish pilgrims dance near the grave of Rabbi Nachman, the founder of the Breslov movement.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A young boy poses with a toy gun in Uman during Jewish New Year festivities.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A pilgrim reads with his young son near Rabbi Nachman's grave in Uman. On his deathbed in 1810, he said all Jews must visit his grave on the new year.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A boy sits on the main street of the Jewish enclosure in Uman during the pilgrimage.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Pilgrims stand near a cross near Rabbi Nachman's grave.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A Hasidic walks with his hat box in Uman.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Young Pilgrims drink beer by Nachman's grave.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A man gets his head shaved ahead of the Jewish New Year.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Pilgrims relax near a lake by Rabbi Nachman's grave in Uman.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A pilgrim walks along the main drag in the Jewish enclosure in Uman. Many of the pilgrims party all night.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A Hasidic man walks past Soviet high-rises in Uman.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Pilgrims stand near the Jewish enclosure sealed off for New Year.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

A man relaxes after skinny-dipping in a lake near Rabbi Nachman's grave at the end of Rosh Hashanah.

Photograph by Joel van Houdt

Hasidic men pray on the evening of Rosh Hashanah by the lake near Rabbi Nachman's grave.