Refugees Themselves, East Ukraine Emissaries Strive On
By: Dovid Margolin | Chabad.org – The second of two articles on Jewish life in war-torn eastern Ukraine. – Rabbi Sholom Gopin, standing in center, chief rabbi and Chabad emissary of Lugansk, Ukraine, spends time in Ashdod, Israel, during Chanukah with former members of his community who left because of the war back home. […]
“Man of the year” celebrated in Moscow
Six thousand members and guests of the Jewish community of Moscow attended the annual celebration in honor of Chanukah and the special world-famous awarding ceremony “Man of the Year,” hosted by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. The event, honoring chosen individuals that had a special impact on Jewish life in Russia during 2014 […]
Scattered Among States, Donetsk Jewish Community Inches Into 2015
– The first of two articles on Jewish life in war-torn eastern Ukraine – By: Dovid Margolin | Chabad.org For the first time in two decades, no public Chanukah celebration took place this year in the center of Donetsk, Ukraine. Gone was the towering menorah on Pushkin Boulevard surrounded by thousands of men, women and […]
FJC presents: The Jewish Family
New: the FJC is proud to present its new special Video production, sponsored by the Leviev foundation, explaining and visualizing in spoken Russian the concepts of the ‘Jewish Family’ and ‘Family purity’. The Video is the seventh out of a series of productions soon to become available, which will assist the FJC in its mission […]
EnerJew Chanukah Shabbaton lights up the forest
On this past Shabbat Chanukah, the young members of the EnerJew youth movement from the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod enjoyed a special Seminar out in the woods surrounded by nature, fresh air, tranquility and endless snow… A special guest lecturer together with the movement’s professional mentors accompanied the three-day event that focused on the relevance of Jewish life and […]
Chanukah 2014: Hundreds of thousands celebrated; Millions followed on Facebook
The festive celebrations of Chanukah throughout the Former Soviet Union have become known worldwide for their uniqueness and beauty. While hundreds of thousands of Jews across the land celebrated in over 500 communities, millions from across the world followed on Facebook. Amounting to thousands of events, attended by FSU Jews of all lifestyles and ages, Chanukah once again signified the victory of […]
East Ukraine: energetic Jewish youth unite
The Jewish youth of Donetsk and Mariupol, two of the main cities in the heart of the East Ukrainian conflict, enjoyed last week a special and professional Shabbaton Seminar in the capital city of Kiev in honor of the upcoming festival of lights. The seminar, organized by the new and innovative ‘EnerJew’ youth movement, already […]
In Lugansk, an icy Ukraine winter tests a war-torn community
By Cnaan Liphshiz – JTA LUGANSK, Ukraine (JTA) — In an unheated synagogue with no running water, a dozen Jews are trying to keep warm as temperatures here veer toward the single digits. Not moving too much helps keep the warmth under their thick coats, they say, a technique developed as the group gathered at least […]
Jewish FSU prepares for Chanukah
Fifty thousand sets of Chanukah Menorahs and candles produced by the FJC special holiday department, are now being distributed across the Jewish communities of the Former Soviet Union, as part of the last preparations towards the upcoming festival of lights, Chanukah. Warmly welcomed by the Jewish population, the Menorah sets aim to assist every single […]
Krasnoyarsk, Siberia honors FJC Rabbi
The Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, Russia is celebrating 80 years to its establishment, and has decided to take the opportunity and honor 80 individuals, which have devoted themselves to the benefit of the region. One of them is Rabbi Benny Wagner that heads the local Jewish community. The region’s governor Mr. Viktor Tolokanski presented the […]