Live at 12:30 PM: The annual Gala Banquet of the Kinus will take place with 6,500 shluchim and guests gathering to renew, recharge, and reinvigorate. This year’s banquet will feature individual Shluchim standing on the frontlines of global crises throughout the last year.
Chabad Shluchim cater to Jews of all walks of life, no matter the circumstances. In a uniquely challenging year for the Jewish community, every individual Shliach played a critical role in being a source of strength for millions of Jews worldwide. As 6,500 Shluchim and Jewish leaders representing over 110 countries around the world take their seats at the International Conference of Shluchim gala finale, a mixed media introductory program will be live broadcast to thousands of spectators, highlighting the contributions of individual Shluchim in a wide array of circumstances.
“The Shluchim are the global support system of the Jewish people, providing critical aid in situations where no one else does,” says Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, who undertook his father Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky’s role as director of the conference after his passing this year. “From war in the Middle East and Ukraine to natural disasters, and a shocking increase in antisemitism, the Shluchim are there for every last person.”
In a deeply moving moment, the gala will pause to honor Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in the UAE who was brutally kidnapped and murdered last week in Dubai. A memorial ceremony will stand as a testament to his unique dedication and tragic sacrifice.
The introductory program will be hosted by Rabbi Heshy Epstein, a Shliach in South Carolina, together with Zev Jacobson from Yerushalayim, streamed live from the gala banquet. The program allows the Kinus to highlight real-life stories of Shluchim on the ground in unique situations, ahead of the main program celebrating success on a global level and committing to lofty goals for the forthcoming year.
The tragic events of October 7, 2023, led to an uprising of antisemitism throughout the Jewish diaspora. Young Jews on college campuses struggled with their Jewish identity in the face of constant taunting, protests, and attacks. Meanwhile, Jews living in the most remote corners of the globe, far from any Jewish infrastructure, struggled with isolation. However, individual Shluchim stepped up to provide solace to each and every Jew, and the Kinus kickoff show aims to tell that story.
On the front lines of the battle for Jewish pride on campus, Rabbi Zev Johnson represents Chabad at the University of Texas. Himself inspired to become a Chabad Rabbi thanks to his experience as a student in Austin, Rabbi Johnson will showcase the important work Chabad on Campus. Meanwhile, across the country, Rabbi Dov Greenberg caters to Jewish students’ needs at Stanford, where Jewish pride shone despite extreme protests over the past year.
In the vast expanse of Australia, Chabad of RARA (Rural and Regional Australia) bridges geographical divides by serving Jewish people across the continent’s remote regions. Led by Rabbi Menachem Aron, the organization maintains contact with over 5,000 Jews through innovative outreach, including road trips in a bright yellow Mitzvah Tank campervan that delivers Jewish resources, arranges Shabbat meals, and provides spiritual connection.
“These two young men bursting with positivity satiated my spiritual hunger,” shared Caroline from Rockingham, Western Australia. “To have two fine New Yorkers affix my own mezuzah, perfectly slanted onto my doorpost, was such an unexpected holy joy.”
While lives are touched in the land down under, war rages in Ukraine. Also featured in the Kinus kickoff program is Rabbi Moshe Moscowitz, Shliach to Kharkiv, Ukraine, the backbone of his community, staying strong while under attack for over a year. Rabbi Akiva Camissar, Director of the Chabad Israeli Center in Amsterdam, will recount the outpouring of love and support among his community during the recent shocking attacks on innocent Jews.
Commemorating the 16th yahrzeit of Rabbi Gaby and Rivky Holzberg AH, the Shluchim to Mumbai, India, who were murdered by terrorists in 2008, Rabbi Yisroel Koslowsky, who bravely took over their holy task, will describe how the community rose from the ashes to create a home away from home for tourists and travelers, as the ultimate Jewish response to tragedy. He will be joined by Avremi Rapoport, who spent Pesach in Mumbai as part of the long-standing Merkos Shlichus Roving Rabbis program.
As Shluchim take their seats at the gala banquet, tune in to watch the program at:
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