Billionaire Igor Kolomoisky was elected president of an umbrella Jewish organization in Ukraine.
Kolomoisky was the choice of some 2,400 delegates gathered in Kiev for the 2008 Congress of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine. He succeeds tycoon Vadim Rabinovich, who retired after 10 years leading the group.
The election of Kolomoisky, an active member and sponsor of the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk, comes as little surprise for many Jews in Ukraine. He is a well-known businessman and media mogul who has donated millions of dollars to Jewish causes in Dnepropetrovsk.
During the congress Kolomoisky said he planned to continue to develop Jewish community and combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism in Ukraine.
While Rabinovich stepped down as the United Jewish Community’s leader, he still heads another Jewish umbrella group in Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress. There are as many as eight umbrella Jewish organizations in Ukraine.
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