Month: August 2014

Jewish Mariupol Sits Tight as Tanks Roll Into Ukraine

By Dovid Margolin – Chabad.org  During the summer months of any other year, southeastern Ukraine’s seaside city of Mariupol would draw scores of tourists to its foaming shores. Vacationing by the sea, the morya, is almost a ritual in this part of the world, and until recently, Mariupol, an important port on the northern banks of the Azov Sea, […]

Israeli Knesset Members Visit Kharkov

The welfare of the many refugees who have fled the cities of Lugansk and Donentsk to Kharkov and other cities in Ukraine due to unrest in the region was of great concern to three members of the Israeli Knesset, who arrived Thursday in Kharkov with a delegation. Knesset members Zeev Elkin (Likud Chair, Foreign Affairs and Defense […]

On the Journey to Freedom * Escaping from Lugansk

It was impossible to get David and Daniel to get a rest this afternoon. They ran across the FJC’s and Fellowship’s joint safe summer camp for Jewish refugees from the war-stricken areas of Eastern Ukraine, breathing the fresh air and the freedom they sorely lack. “Mother, where is the shelter?” they asked as soon as […]

First Jewish Refugee Camp Opens in Ukraine; Many Still Trapped in East

When Tatyana fled the beleaguered eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk late last week, she felt relieved just to have made it out alive. “It was a horror. We boarded the train under heavy bombing,” explains Tatyana, 50, who escaped together with her daughter, son-in-law and 7-year-old grandson. “It was relatively calm until July 13; there […]

‘Mitzvah tanks’ set off across Russia

By RT.com  Rabbis and students of Jewish religious schools from the US, Europe, and Israel have set off on a journey across Russia in special vehicles known as “Mitzvah tanks.” The Mitzvah tanks began their journey on Thursday, with plans to visit nearly 70 cities across Russia – including Volgograd, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Krasnodar, Sochi, […]

President Putin Honors Rabbi Lazar

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin presented the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar, with a special medal for his “contribution to the homeland.” The accolade is one of the most outstanding citations in Russia, awarded to persons who have made important contributions to the growth and prosperity of Russia. In his remarks Rabbi Lazar pointed out that […]