News Brief

Philanthropist Lev Leviev visited the Jewish community in the Ukrainian city of Krivoy Rog.

Leviev, an Israeli entrepreneur and the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, met with local Jewish community leaders and municipal officials. He was joined in Krivoy Rog, a city of 700,000 that lies 275 miles west of Kiev, by his family and David Mondshine, the director general of Leviev’s Ohr Avner Foundation.

The delegation was met by pupils of the Ohr Avner Chabad Day School, students of the STARS program and children living at the Childhood Planet Dormitory, all beneficiaries of the Ohr Avner Foundation and the Federation of Jewish Communities. Mayor Yuri Lyubonenko thanked Rabbi Liron Ederi, the Chabad Lubavitch emissary, for his contribution to strengthening interethnic and interfaith relations in the town.

Leviev and his foundation are working to advance Jewish education across the former Soviet Union.

Children in Belarus are celebrating Israel’s 60th anniversary

A four-day event for children, “Israel: Young Country with Ancient History,” is being held in the capital city of Minsk. The event was organized by the cultural and information center of the Israeli Embassy and the Minsk Central Children’s Library.

“Our main aim is to foster tolerance among Belarusan children,” a representative of the embassy’s Israeli cultural and information center told JTA. “They can also learn interesting facts about Israel.”

The event includes a CD presentation about Israel, an exhibition of posters of the works of well-known Israeli artists and a display of Israeli books. Children are also taking part in quizzes about Israel. The winners will receive prizes on Thursday, the last day of the event.

“Children participating in the event are not necessarily Jewish children,” the embassy representative said. “It’s very important for us to tell the young people of all nationalities that live in Belarus about Israel.”