Veterans’ Event Unites Jewish Generations in Dnepropetrovsk

DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine –- This week, the city of Dnepropetrovsk played host to an inter-generational meeting that brought together Jewish war veterans with youth. The event took place at the ‘Levi Yitzhak Schneerson’ Day School and was organized by the students themselves, under the guidance of their teachers.

Savely Bass headed the delegation of honored elders, comprising members of the Veterans’ Council run by the local Jewish community. Already an annual tradition, this meeting involved 16 war veterans, a number which unfortunately becomes fewer every year due to some passing on. “These veterans represent our undying memory, our living legends, our efforts to educate children,” explained Laris Kurilenko, who coordinated this event on behalf of the school.

The children met the veterans at the entrance and became engaged in a ‘lesson on bravery’, where the guests spoke to them about the war years, their personal experiences and answered a wave of questions. The children, in their turn, relayed what they knew about how their grandparents and relatives served in the war. Children in grades three through seven put on a concert, including literary compositions, national dances and songs, after which the youngsters presented the visitors with flowers and sweets.

The Levi Yitzhak Schneerson Day School operates as part of the Jewish educational network sponsored by the Ohr Avner Foundation – the largest existing throughout the countries of the Former Soviet Union. The Ohr Avner Foundation is headed by renowned philanthropist and FJC President Lev Leviev.