Euroasian Jewish News

Hanukkah candle lighting at the Ukrainian parliament. Photo by Ian Dobronosov

Ukrainian parliament hosts Hanukkah candle lighting

The Ukrainian parliament hosted a Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony, for the first time since the elections in Ukraine and the victory of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish.

The ceremony was led by the Chief Rabbi of Kiev and the Chabad emissary in the city, Rabbi Yonatan Markovich.

The event was attended by more than 200 MPs, public figures and representatives of the Jewish community, including Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Joel Leon, Israeli honorary consul Oleg Vishnyakov, the co-chairs of the group on inter-parliamentary relations with the State of Israel, Aleksander Kunitsky and Daniil Getmantsev, and 80 lawmakers representing various factions of the parliament.

“As a Jew born in Ukraine during a dark period in Jewish history, a grandson of Holocaust survivors and the Chief Rabbi of Kiev, I am proud to stand here today in the country’s parliament on behalf of the Ukrainian Jewish community,” said Rabbi Markovich.

“Hanukkah symbolizes the victory of the Jewish people over a great empire that became a reality because we were united and trusted in God. The House of Representatives is an institution that unites all peoples in Ukraine. Everyone has different opinions, but we must remain united if we want to defeat our enemies,” he added.

The event in the Ukrainian parliament is the first in a series of Hanukkah celebrations to be held across the country. Main festivities, with thousands of Jews expected to attend, will also be held in Kiev, Odessa, Dnepr, Lviv and Kharkov.

By: Orli Harari

Arutz Sheva