- April 29, 2026
- 8:04 pm
- Ukraine
An exhibition about Golda Meir and her Ukrainian roots will be held in Kyiv
In the art space “Fiddler on the Roof” in Kyiv, the exhibition “Golda Meir. Roots from Ukraine” (orig. Ukr. – “Голда Меїр. Коріння з України”) is taking place, dedicated to one of the most recognizable women in the history of Israel. The opening is on April 30, 2026, at 18:00, and the exhibition is expected to last until May 26.
For the Israeli audience, this topic resonates particularly closely. Golda Meir became one of the symbols of Israeli statehood, but her personal biography begins not in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, but in Kyiv. That is why the exhibition in the Ukrainian capital is not just a cultural event, but another reason to see how closely intertwined Jewish history, Ukraine, and Israel are.
From exhibition to a conversation about leadership
On May 3, 2026, the gallery “Fiddler on the Roof” also invited to a lecture-discussion “Golda Meir: a strong woman = a wise leader?“. This event is also timed to Golda Meir’s birthday and continues the theme of the exhibition, but through a conversation about personality, character, and the cost of political decisions.
The organizers propose to look at Golda Meir not only as a historical symbol but as a person: with habits, doubts, tough decisions, and moments when the cost of choice was maximal. This format is important right now because the figures of leaders often turn into slogans, and the living person behind them is lost.
Golda Meir: Ukrainian roots, Israel, and the price of strength
The exhibition and lecture bring back into focus the Ukrainian dimension of Golda Meir’s biography. She was born in Kyiv and became one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century, and in Israeli memory, she remained a person associated with years of the most complex decisions, wars, diplomacy, and internal responsibility to the country.
At the lecture-discussion, participants are invited to discuss what truly lies behind a leader’s strength.
Is it inner clarity? The ability to withstand pressure? The willingness to be alone with one’s decisions? Or the ability to pay a personal price for state responsibility?
The question posed in the title of the meeting sounds simple but actually opens up a complex conversation: is a strong woman always a wise leader? And conversely, can wisdom sometimes require not strength, but doubt, caution, and the ability to stop in time?
Who will conduct the lecture-discussion
The lecturers are announced as Leizer Feldman and Tatyana Graban.
Leizer Feldman — founder of the gallery “Fiddler on the Roof“ https://www.instagram.com/leizer_studio/ , artist, and also founder of the Golda Meir Institute for Civil Society Development. His participation is especially logical: the gallery itself has become a space where Jewish history, Ukrainian cultural environment, and Israeli memory are connected not formally, but through art and public conversation.
Tatyana Graban — chair of the board of the Golda Meir Institute for Civil Society Development and organizer of the “Forum of Good Deeds”. In the context of the lecture, this adds not only a historical but also a social layer to the conversation: it is not just about the past, but about how Golda Meir’s legacy is read today.
Gallery “Fiddler on the Roof”: Jewish art in the heart of Kyiv
The art space “Fiddler on the Roof” is located in the building of the Brodsky Synagogue at the address: Ukraine, Kyiv, Shota Rustaveli Street, 13. This place itself sets an important context: the gallery operates within a historical Jewish space where architecture, memory, and contemporary art are perceived as parts of one story.
The founder of the gallery is Israeli and Ukrainian artist Albert-Leizer Feldman. He is known not only as an artist but also as a doctor of psychology, physician, public figure, founder of the Golda Meir Institute for Civil Society Development, and head of the Israeli Medical Mission in Ukraine.
That is why NAnovosti — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency considers such events not as an ordinary cultural poster of Kyiv, but as part of a large conversation about the connection between Israel, Ukraine, and the Jewish heritage of Eastern Europe.
What awaits visitors
In the gallery, you can see paintings, art dolls, souvenirs, installations, and items related to Jewish culture. The “Fiddler on the Roof” space does not look like a static museum where the exhibition exists separately from the viewer. It is a lively platform where exhibitions, meetings, and discussions constantly complement each other.
For readers in Israel, this story is also important because it shows: Jewish memory in Ukraine is not only tragic pages. It is also art, synagogues, family routes, shtetl culture, language, architecture, and people whose destinies then became part of Israel’s history.
Practical information
The exhibition “Golda Meir. Roots from Ukraine” is held in the art space “Fiddler on the Roof” in Kyiv.
Gallery account – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580777842217
Address: Kyiv, Shota Rustaveli Street, 13, Brodsky Synagogue.
Exhibition opening: April 30, 18:00.
The exhibition will last until May 26.
The lecture-discussion “Golda Meir: a strong woman = a wise leader?” is scheduled for May 3, 2026.
The gallery is usually open to visitors from Sunday to Thursday, from 12:00 to 19:00. Inside, guests are awaited by art, a conversation about memory, and the opportunity to see Golda Meir not only as an Israeli stateswoman but as a woman whose biography began in Kyiv and became part of world history.
Central Synagogue of Kyiv and Rabbi Moshe Asman
The building on Shota Rustaveli Street, 13 is primarily the Central Synagogue of Kyiv, known as the Brodsky Synagogue. It was built in 1897–1898 and became one of the main Jewish religious points of the Ukrainian capital.
After the Soviet period, the building was returned to the Jewish community. Services resumed here in 1992, and after restoration, the synagogue was solemnly opened in 2000.
Today it is not only a place of prayer but also an important center of Jewish life in Kyiv. This space is associated with the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Reuven Asman — one of the most prominent Jewish public figures in Ukraine, especially after the start of the full-scale Russian war.
That is why the exhibition about Golda Meir in the Brodsky Synagogue building gains additional meaning. It is held not just in a beautiful historical building, but in a living Jewish center of Kyiv, where religious tradition, memory, Ukrainian-Israeli connections, and modern public life are united at one address.
