Chabad mourned the loss of the prime minister of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Zurab Zhvania, who had Jewish roots, died Thursday in Tbilisi, apparently from gas leaked from a faulty heater. One of Georgia’s leading rabbis, Avraham Mikhailashvili, met with Zhvania’s mother, who is Jewish, to express his condolences.
Zhvania was known as a supporter of religious freedom and recently helped the Georgian Jewish community celebrate its 100th anniversary.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
