Rabbinical Students Visit Prison

Aberdeen, WA — There are only a handful of Jews in the Stafford Creek Correctional Center. They say a general lack of understanding about their faith is stressful. So is what feels like constant Christian proselytizing by fellow inmates and the occasional corrections officer.

In Ukraine, Jewish Community Marks Tragic Anniversary

Chernovtsy, Ukraine –- A meeting took place in Chernovtsy to commemorate a tragic occasion in local history – the day in World War Two that occupying Fascist troops began to murder Jewish residents of this Ukrainian city. The memorial was held in the Jewish cemetery, the site of the mass murder of thousands of innocent victims.

Organized by the local Organization of Concentration Camp and Ghetto Prisoners, the event involved Chief Rabbi of Chernovtsy Menachem Mendel Glitzenshtein, representatives of all local Jewish organizations, and local Jews. After Rabbi Glitzenshtein said the Kaddish, many spoke with heavy hearts.

Prince Edward Inaugurates Chabad’s Drugsline

Ilford, UK — Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex and youngest son of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, inaugurated the latest satellite of the drug crisis prevention and counseling center known as Drugsline. The Gants Hill offices will also house Drugsline’s School’s Outreach Team.

Jewish nurse reburied in Israel

Jerusalem, Israel – The remains of a Jewish soldier exhumed from a common grave in Estonia were reburied in Jerusalem.

The body of Lenina Varshavskaya, a Jewish nurse in the Red Army interred alongside a monument to the soldiers who liberated the city from the Nazis, was reburied Wednesday according to Jewish custom at the Mount of Olives by one of Russia’s chief rabbis, Berel Lazar.

A Friendly Circle of Teens and Special Needs Kids

Fanwood, NJ — For children with special needs who can sometimes be made to feel different or lonely, it is a real treat to have two bright and friendly teenagers come to their home to play with them.

That is what two high schoolers from Scotch Plains, Josh Lieberman and DJ Gordon, started doing this past spring, spending an hour each week with two siblings, ages seven and five, who have special needs. They read stories with the children, played with toy cars, took bike rides, or jumped on the trampoline together. When the school year starts, they plan to resume the friendship again.