In Lviv, the “European Days of Jewish Culture” are taking place: exhibitions, lectures, and the exhibition of the National Library of Israel “The People of the Book” from November 8-22, 2025.

In Lviv, the European Days of Jewish Culture have begun — an event that connects the past and present, Ukraine and Israel, language and music. For two weeks, residents and guests can visit exhibitions, lectures, concerts, and tours dedicated to the theme “People of the Book.” This is not just a festival — it is a return to memory, where the book becomes a symbol of life and resilience of the people.

The City Where Words Have Memory

Lviv is a city where history does not fade away but waits to be heard. Here, traces of Jewish streets, houses, schools, and synagogues have been preserved, where Yiddish and Hebrew once resounded, where Torah scribes lived alongside poets and philosophers.

This year, Lviv became one of the central venues of the pan-European project “European Days of Jewish Culture”, taking place in dozens of countries. The theme for 2025 — “People of the Book” — was chosen not by chance: it reminds us of the power of the written word, capable of preserving identity even in exile and wars.

Lviv Joined the Initiative for the First Time

According to Lviv City Council, the initiative to hold the European Days of Jewish Culture belongs to the European Association for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage (AEPJ), which has been coordinating this project since 1999.

Every year, the festival unites dozens of European countries, creating a space for dialogue between cultures, religions, and generations. In 2025, Lviv officially joined the initiative for the first time.

“We are organizing such an event for the first time. We are very proud that Lviv has become part of this festival. I think this is just the beginning. We hope it becomes a good tradition for our city,” said Natalia Tolok, initiator and coordinator of the festival in Lviv.

Walks in the City Where Literature Comes Alive

The festival began on November 8 with a tour “Lviv — Its Jewish History Reflected in Literature”. In the English and Ukrainian versions of the walk, guides talked about how in the works of Sholem Aleichem, Debora Vogel, and Stanisław Lem, Lviv comes alive — a city where culture intertwines destinies.

On November 10, a tour “In the Footsteps of Galician Jews — Personalities and Books” took place at the museum on Kotlyarevsky Street, 30. Here, they talked about people whose lives passed between prayer scrolls and printing presses — about the first publishers, rabbis, and writers who made Galicia a center of spiritual thought in Eastern Europe.

Israel in Lviv: Exhibition of the National Library

The main event of the festival will be the exhibition of the National Library of Israel, starting November 15 at the Honorary Consulate of the State of Israel in Lviv.

The exhibition “People of the Book” gathered rare manuscripts, photographs, letters, and covers of ancient editions. On the stands, you can see copies of pages written in Hebrew, Arabic, and Yiddish — a reflection of how multilayered the history of the Jewish people is.

“A book is not just an object,” noted a representative of the library. “It is the breath of the people, its memory, its faith.”

After the exhibition, there will be a meeting with Yuri Vedenyapin, a Yiddish language researcher from Poland and the USA. His lecture “The Revival of the Yiddish Language in Modern Culture” turned into a lively conversation about how the ancient language returns to songs, theater, and cinema. “A language dies only when people stop dreaming in it.”

Music That Connects Generations

On November 16, the First Theater of Lviv will host a concert “Sholem! (Peace!)” — a musical and dance performance combining klezmer melodies, jazz, and Jewish dances.

After the concert, everyone will be invited to a master class on traditional Jewish dances. In such moments, when Ukrainians, Israelis, and Europeans stand in one circle, language differences fade away. Music speaks for everyone.

Lecture on Restoration: How to Breathe Life into Artifacts

On November 18, a lecture “New Life of Jewish Artifacts. Restoration of Written Monuments” will take place at the Photomuseum on Kopernika Street, 17. Restorers will talk about how they save documents found in old archives and houses of Lviv — from letters to pages from prayer books.

“Sometimes we see the fingerprints of a person who held a pen a hundred years ago. In such moments, you realize — history is not dead,” shares restorer Anna Sukhomlin.

Women’s Images and Sacred Texts

The final event of the festival will take place on November 22 at the Center for Urban History. The lecture “The Sacred Book and the Female Soul: Male and Female in Jewish Literary Tradition” will bring together researchers from Ukraine and Israel.

They will discuss how in the texts of the Torah and modern literature, voices intertwine — female and male, ancient and modern. The discussion will not only be about religious symbols but also about female writers and poets who are reclaiming their voice in history.

Memory as a Form of Resistance

The festival takes place in a country that defends its right to exist every day. When Russian missiles destroy Ukrainian cities where Jewish communities lived, memory becomes an act of resistance. To preserve it means to resist oblivion and restore the connection of times.

Ukraine and Israel share one thing: the understanding that the history of a people is its protection.

A Bridge Between Jerusalem and Lviv

Between Jerusalem and Lviv — thousands of kilometers, but only one common word: memory. Israeli archives pass copies of manuscripts to Ukrainian museums, and Ukrainian restorers share methods of preserving ancient texts.

The project NANovosti — News of Israel has written about such initiatives more than once. They show that diplomacy can be not only political but also cultural. When a book from an Israeli library ends up in a Ukrainian museum, and Ukrainian history is heard in Hebrew, a true dialogue is born.

“People of the Book” — That’s Us

“People of the Book” is not an abstract concept. These are people who carry culture, preserve language, and pass on knowledge. In Lviv, this becomes especially noticeable. Every story, every song, every restored page is a reminder: living memory can survive everything.

The organizers emphasize: the goal of the festival is not just to remember, but to breathe new life into old texts. It is a chance to see that tradition and modernity do not contradict but complement each other.

Conclusion: Lviv as a Mirror of Europe

The European Days of Jewish Culture festival takes place in more than thirty countries. But it is in Lviv that it resonates particularly deeply. Here, where war reminds of the price of life, culture becomes the answer.

Lviv not only preserves the past — it turns it into a force capable of uniting. And while Jewish songs are heard in its ancient houses, Europe remembers that its roots are in dialogue, in knowledge, and in human dignity.

Read more materials about the connection between Israel and Ukraine on the NANovosti — News of Israel website.