Siberian Jewish Community Honors Heroes
Omsk, Russia — This week in Omsk, the ‘Achdut’ Newspaper issued by the local Jewish community held a meeting involving local Jews and 18 of their ‘heroes’. These individuals all seem to be familiar to local residents since these admirable individuals were all featured, one at a time, in the pages of ‘Achdut’ in the section “Interview of the Month” over the past two years.
The gathering took place in the Synagogue and was hosted by Chief Rabbi of Omsk Osher Krichevsky, who is also a Chabad Lubavitch emissary serving in the region. For four hours, over 60 guests spent time getting to know these ‘heroes’ – veterans, scientists, doctors, engineers, teachers, cultural leaders, artists and leading businessmen.
Apart from enjoying kosher baked goods, participants enjoyed a musical program featuring local performers, folk songs in Yiddish and Hebrew, classical music and excerpts from an opera. The veterans sang their favorite songs, read poetry, and shared stories and memories. The organizers expressed interest in making such gatherings a regular occurrence in the life of the community.
Funds raised through this event will be contributed towards erecting a monument to students of the Omsk School Number 37, which was mainly attended by Jewish students at the time they were drafted into the Soviet Red Army during World War Two.
