Israeli Minister Tours Ukraine Educational Complex

Israeli Minister Yossi Peled toured the Ukrainian city of Zhitomir, stopping by the Chabad-Lubavitch run Children’s Educational Complex to meet with students and their teachers.

During his visit to the school, which is run as part of the Ohr Avner educational network supported by philanthropist Lev Leviev, Peled toured its dormitory and sat down with school directors Rabbi Schneur and Malka Bukiet.

Peled spoke of his own difficult childhood during World War II, when a Belgian family took in the young boy and his sister. His father perished in the Auschwitz concentration camp, but his mother survived to reclaim her children and eventually move the family to Israel.

“As a Holocaust survivor, I can appreciate the conditions and the warmth that you are providing to these children,” said Peled. “This is Jewish solidarity and [a reflection of our] responsibility to take care of every Jewish boy and girl in order to give them a chance for a better and happier life.

“The Talmudic tractate Kidushin says that every good thing has a decisive influence on the world,” added the minister. “Surely this children’s home is something that will make our world a better place.”

The Jewish community of Zhitomir is led by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm – a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary serving in the region – and is a member of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine.