Euroasian Jewish News

Menorah in Kazakhstan. (photo credit: KAZAKHSTAN EMBASSY)

Hanukkh Menorach Lights Up Capital of Kazakhstan for First Time in Years

The Jewish community of Kazakhstan was allowed to light a Menorah in the capital city of Astana, for the first time in years.

The menorah was put on display outside the Pyramid of Peace and Reconciliation, one of the country’s top tourist attractions with the approval of Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Mayor of Astana Bakhyt Sultanov.

The lighting of the menorah in Astana was the result of a memorandum of understanding signed in October between Paul Packer, Chairman of the US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, and Arystanbek Muhamediuly, Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Signed at the 6th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held in the capital city of Astana, the agreement initiates cooperation between the United States and Kazakhstan to preserve the cultural heritage of national, ethnic, and religious groups that live or once lived in the territory of Kazakhstan, with a focus on Jewish heritage.

JPost.com