European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor led a delegation to Moscow’s Choral Synagogue.
The visit was part of the ongoing EJC Executive meeting being held this week in Moscow. The gathering of European Jewish leaders and EJC board members is the first ever held in Russia.
“That we are meeting in Moscow this week is a great boost to the continuing revival of Jewish life in Russia and of the place that the Russian Jewish community, now the largest in Europe, is playing in European Jewish affairs,†said Kantor, who is Russian.
Kantor, who was elected president in June, chose to hold the meeting in Moscow to highlight the revival of Jewish life there since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He also said through his press secretary that he hopes to take advantage of the opportunity to speak with Russian government officials about important issues, including the Iranian nuclear threat.
The 19th century Choral Synagogue is the oldest in Moscow and was vital to maintaining Jewish life during even the harshest years of Soviet repression of religious life in Russia.
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