Synagogue in Ukraine Hometown of Late Lubavitcher Rebbe Schneerson Gets $100K Facelift
The Jewish community of Nikolayev in southern Ukraine, the hometown of the late leader of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, has renovated and rededicated its century-old synagogue.
Hundreds of Jews attended the rededication ceremony earlier this month to celebrate the $100,000 renovation which gave the structure marble floors, Jerusalem-stone panels and air conditioning, the synagogue’s rabbi, Shalom Gotlieb, told JTA Wednesday.
The synagogue is located near monument honoring Schneerson, who was born in Nikolayev.
Gotlieb said the rededication came three weeks after unidentified individuals painted anti-Semitic symbols on the synagogue’s facade. In March, a swastika and neo-Nazi symbols were painted on the Schneerson monument.
“The police cordoned off the street during the ceremony and it went smoothly,” Gotlieb said.
Nikolayev has a Jewish population of 15,000, Gotlieb said, and a Jewish kindergarten and school.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
