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World Jewish News
Ukrainian memorial to Lubavitcher Rebbe damaged
26.02.2009
KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) - Unidentified vandals damaged a monument erected in southern Ukraine in honor of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
The attack occurred overnight on Wednesday in the southern Ukrainian city of Nikolayev, the birth place of Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, who died in 1994.
The vandals damaged a black granite monument, likely using a hammer, and pasted two provocative xenophobic leaflets on the memorial.
Law enforcement agencies are investigating the case but no arrests have been reported.
"We are not sure who did it," Rabbi Shlomo Gottlib, chief rabbi of Nikolayev and surrounding region, told JTA. "Probably this crisis is a result the anti-Semitic atmosphere in the city. We are working closely with local authorities who are loyal to us. Meanwhile, probably some forces directed those vandals against ethnic minorities. We believe that local law enforcement agencies will investigate the case and punish the guilty parties."
The Nikolayev monument – a black granite open book – was erected in August 2008 on the corner of Moskovskaya and Dunayeva streets – not far from the place where Schneerson was born.
The monument was erected on the initiative of the Nikolayev Jewish community, with a donation from the Shaul family of Los Angeles and support of the local mayor.
Nikolayev, with a population of 500,000, is home to an estimated 7,000 Jews.
Источник: JTA
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