Chief Rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk Visits Rural Communities

Nipol, Ukraine -– In the near future, Chief Rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk Region Shmuel Kaminetsky shall be visiting all Jewish communities in the region. During his visits, which shall take place over the next three months, he will be providing assistance to numerous smaller communities in order to promote Jewish life at the local level – morally, administratively, and in terms of both infrastructure and taxation of non-governmental organizations.

Nikopol was the first town to be visited by Rabbi Kaminetsky, who joined Jewish community Chairman Alexander Feldman in meeting with Mayor Sergei Starun and managers from the City Administration and law enforcement agencies. They discussed measures necessary to advance Jewish life in Nikopol. City Prosecutor Valery Prihozhanov Directors from municipal departments also attended. Representatives appeared to understand the issues at hand and assured the Jewish representatives that these issues would be resolved in the near future.

During his visit, Rabbi Kaminetsky also met with community members from Nikopol and the neighboring communities of Ordzhonikidze and Marganets. Over 300 Jews received the latest issues of regional Jewish newspapers, the Moscow ‘Lechaim’ magazine and some chocolates.
Following speeches by the Mayor and Prosecutor, Rabbi Kaminetsky thanked each Jew for contributing to the revival of Yiddishkeit and Alexander Feldman for his dedication to reviving Jewish life in Nikopol. The Chief Rabbi said that the development of Jewish life would be impossible without the support of authorities, thanking the Mayor for his support and presenting memorial plaques to the Mayor and community Chairman for their contribution to the revival of the local Jewish community. The Chief Rabbi then thanked war veterans with a small gift and thanked Max Shlimovich for his role in the liberation of the city from the Nazis.

The meeting drew to an end with the commencement of a concert, during which leading groups of Dnepropetrovsk and Nikopol performed for the public. Groups that performed at this event included the ‘Beit Baruch’
Veterans Choir, popular Jewish singer Artem Solonik, and Evgeny Simonovsky, the winner of A Yiddishe Stern competition.

The Jewish communities of Nikopol and Dnepropetrovsk are full members of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine.