KYRENIA, North Cyprus — Passover celebrations in Northern Cyprus coordinated by the republic's new Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries went off without a hitch as some 45 people congregated in a local hotel Saturday night for a grand Seder supplied with kosher food cooked on the premises. The hotel's kitchen was specially koshered for the occasion.
New Chabad House Brings Passover to Northern Cyprus
KYRENIA, North Cyprus — Passover celebrations in Northern Cyprus coordinated by the republic’s new Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries went off without a hitch as some 45 people congregated in a local hotel Saturday night for a grand Seder supplied with kosher food cooked on the premises. The hotel’s kitchen was specially koshered for the occasion.
But for Rabbi Chaim Hillel Azimov, the newly arrived co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of North Cyprus, the most inspiring part of the holiday was successfully delivering matzah, grape juice and other kosher for Passover food to an Israeli Jewish inmate of a local prison. Although he was granted permission ahead of time, the prison turned him away four times last week.
“It was hopeless,” said Azimov. “But right before Passover, I focused all my energy on it, and thank G‑d, it turned out well.”
The rabbi said that some last-minute intervention from the Israeli Consulate in Ankara, Turkey, and Israel’s Foreign Ministry enabled the prisoner to celebrate Passover.
