On the occasion of the Passover holiday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of Jewish religious organizations and talked with students of the specialized school No. 325 Happiness (Schastia), his press service has reported.
The Head of State attended one of the lessons and thanked for the invitation to a landmark holiday for Jews, which symbolizes the victory of freedom over slavery.
“How symbolic it is that we are in a Jewish school and in a bomb shelter. This is the eve of Passover. This is a very important signal to the whole world that every nation and people are fighting for freedom and their values, which are more important than conditions … The fact that we are in a bomb shelter, that the children have it, and this is not their choice, but what Russia has done … The Jewish community supports Ukraine in the struggle for freedom for the sake of all our children and the future,” Zelenskyy said during a meeting with rabbis.
The President noted that it is now extremely important to strengthen air defense in order to protect people in Ukraine. He also thanked representatives of Jewish organizations for helping to attract international partners to Ukraine, in particular from the United States.
In turn, the chief rabbis of the cities noted that they had not left the country since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, because during the war it was extremely important to stay with their community. They assured that they would continue to make every possible effort and pray for Ukraine’s victory.
“The main thing is not to have fear. You, as a leader, set a great example in this. The whole country looks at you and sees how confident you are, how brave you are, and this is what keeps people with great hope of victory,” said Chief Rabbi of Dnipro Shmuel Kaminetsky.
He added that the best matzo, bread made from wheat flour, which is consumed during Passover, is made in Ukraine. And the chairman of the Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, Rabbi Meir Stambler, recalled that the Torah is being prepared to be published in Ukrainian for the first time.
“The fact that we are translating the Torah into Ukrainian, we are sure, brings complete victory closer. One that will change the whole world. Since every action we take changes this world. Such a world where all the forces of evil will be destroyed both in the war against Israel and in the war against Ukraine,” said Stambler.