News Feed

Zelensky congratulates Jewish leaders on first day of Hanukkah

1 min read
Zelensky congratulates Jewish leaders on first day of Hanukkah
President Volodymyr Zelensky took part in the ceremony of lighting Hanukkah candles in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 7, 2023. (President's Office)

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 7 met with Jewish clergy in Kyiv and took part in the Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony with Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky.

"This holiday is about the victory of the human spirit. And that's the most important. I wish all of you, us, and everyone who is always on the side of light, on the side of Ukraine and its people, on the side of life - Happy Hanukkah and victory," Zelensky said.

Kaminetsky, who was born in Israel but moved to Dnipro in 1990, lit the large central candle of the menorah and recited a Hebrew blessing.

The Hanukkah holiday symbolizes the possibility of a miracle.

Rabbi Meir Stambler, Chairman of the Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, said the president "can tell the world about the miracle of Ukraine."

Zelensky is Ukraine's first Jewish president and has actively embraced community leaders.

Jewish Confederation of Ukraine responds to Putin’s comment that Zelensky ‘isn’t Jewish’
“Zelensky is a hero not only of the Jewish people, but also of the entire political Ukrainian nation, which, of course, includes Jews,” the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine said in a statement.
Article image
Avatar
Lance Luo

Lance Luo (Li P. Luo) is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, he worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Hromadske Television in Kyiv. He also spent three years in finance and strategy consulting. Mr. Luo graduated from the University of Southern California and serves as an arbitrator at FINRA.

Read more
News Feed

U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks come after the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing undisclosed sources, that he asked President Volodymyr Zelensky whether Kyiv could strike Moscow or St. Petersburg if provided with long-range U.S. weapons.

"The stolen data includes confidential questionnaires of the company's employees, and most importantly, full technical documentation on the production of drones, which was handed over to the relevant specialists of the Ukrainian Defense Forces," a source in Ukraine's military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called upon the EU to take action against Ukraine's conscription practices in an interview with Origo published on July 15, amid an ongoing dispute with Kyiv over the death of a Ukrainian conscript of Hungarian ethnicity.

Show More