Marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, Kyiv Shluchim joined ambassadors from around the world at the Babyn Yar massacre site to recite Kaddish and Kel Malei Rachamim and to impress upon them the need to establish a just and better world.
The Ukrainian president of Jewish descent, Volodymyr Zelensky, participated this Sunday morning in a modest ceremony organized by his office in collaboration with the “Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine” (FJCU) and the “Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center” at the Babyn Yar massacre site in Kyiv. The event commemorated the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp from the Nazi Germans.
Since the outbreak of the war, Zelensky has participated in two events at the site: a commemoration of the anniversary of the massacre of Kyiv’s Jews at Babyn Yar and an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, attended by hundreds of rabbis, ambassadors, government officials, and other dignitaries.
The event was attended by dozens of ambassadors from around the world, led by Israeli Ambassador Michael Brodsky. At the intimate ceremony, alongside President Zelensky, there was a precise Minyan of ten Jewish men, enabling the recitation of the Kaddish and the prayer “Kel Malei Rachamim,” which was led by Rabbi Raphael Rotman, deputy chairman of the Jewish Federation.
Among those present were legal and community leaders, including the chairman of Ukraine’s Jewish communities, Kyiv rabbis Rabbi Pinchas Vishedsky, Rabbi Mordechai Levenhartz, and Rabbi Shalom Gopin.
Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Jewish communities of Ukraine, remarked that the attendance of dozens of ambassadors at the event reflects the world’s desire to seek forgiveness for the crimes of the Holocaust, learn from the lessons of the past, and demand a more just and better world. He also noted that Ukraine invests significant efforts in incorporating Holocaust education, reflecting President Zelensky’s understanding of the importance of teaching the younger generation the lessons of the Holocaust. This approach stands in contrast to the communist era, during which the subject was suppressed, fostering ignorance and the spread of antisemitism.
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