Synagogue in Ukraine Hometown of Late Lubavitcher Rebbe Schneerson Gets $100K Facelift
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
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.
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