Service marks 75th anniversary of Klooga concentration camp massacre
By: ERR A ceremony on Thursday commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Klooga concentration camp massacre, where up to 2,000 people were killed. The ceremony took place at the site of the camp. The opening speech was delivered by Alla Jakobson, the President of the Jewish Community of Estonia, with population minister Riina Solman, the Minister of […]
Historic Home to Khazars and Cantonists, Astrakhan Gets a Mikvah
City’s first ritual bath in 90 years a certain sign of Jewish revival By Menachem Posner | Chabad.org The Jewish community of Astrakhan has roots that go back to the dawn of recorded history in Eastern Europe. Situated near the salt mines of Lake Baskunchak, northwest of the Caspian Sea in the southernmost reaches of Russia, […]
Historic Belarus Synagogue Restored To Jewish Hands
Seventy-eight years after Nazis threw out Jews from Hekdesh Shul, the Jewish community buys building back by Mussi Sharfstein According to the city register of Brest (formerly Brisk), Belarus, as of October 15, 1942, there were 17,893 Jews residing in the city. The next day, that figure was scratched out. That’s when the Nazis liquidated the […]
Petersburg Synagogue Takes Part in Siege of Leningrad Commemorations
The Petersburg Grand Choral Synagogue participated in the city-wide commemoration of the Siege of Leningrad and the thousands of lives it has taken last week, among them many Jewish ones. The commemoration, held on September 8th, the day of the beginning of the siege in 1941, fell on a Saturday this year and the synagogue […]
Magnificent Mikvah Opens in Southern Russia
Rabbi Yisrael Melamed led a celebration opening a magnificent new Mikvah and the inauguration of a historic synagogue in the city of Astrakhan in southern Russia. A number of events were held this past week in the city of Astrakhan in southern Russia, with the opening of a magnificent new Mikvah built in the courtyard of the […]
150-year old Torah Scroll Survivor Innagurated in Kharkov
A touching celebration of Jewish continuity and vivacity took place in Kharkov, Ukraine recently – a 150-year old Torah Scroll was restored and inaugurated at the local community by the original owner’s 6th generation descendant in honor of his upcoming wedding. The Kolpak family reconnected to their heritage through the activities initiated by Kharkov’s Rabbi […]
For Tbilisi Students, this New School Year Heralds a New Building
Jewish students at Tbilisi’s Ohr Avner are getting a fresh start by Dvora Lakein – Tbilisi, Georgia AUGUST 29, 2019 It isn’t only a new school year for Tbilisi’s Jewish students. It’s an entirely new experience. On September 16, the first day of the Georgian school year, 107 students will sit at their shiny new desks at […]
What It’s Like to Be Jewish in Estonia
Eliyahu (Ilja) Šmorgun, Ph.D., is taking part in the nation’s Jewish renaissance By Menachem Posner | Chabad.org In 1941, the Nazis declared Estonia, a small nation on the Baltic sea, “Judenfrei” (“free of Jews”). Indeed, fewer than a dozen Jews are known to have survived the Holocaust in Estonia. The Nazi slaughter was followed by decades […]
Ukraine: Netanyahu Meets with Rabbis, Leaders of Jewish Communities
Rabbi Mayer Stambler, head of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, addressed Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign and Ukrainian officials in a meeting with the Rabbis and leaders of the Jewish communities in Ukraine. At the event, Rabbi Stambler spoke about the growth of the Jewish communities and the dedicated work that Chabad emissaries perform […]
‘Mitzvah Tanks’ take to the streets of Russia and Ukraine
Summer in Russia and Ukraine sees Mitzvah Tanks visiting the most distant communities throughout the region, thanks to a unique project backed by the Federation of Jewish Communities. Leaders and community rabbis throughout the region have a deep desire to bring the joy and light of Judaism to Jews everywhere. In both countries, there are […]