Four lending centers for medical equipment were inaugurated in the cities of Zhytomyr, Chernivtsi, Vinnitsa, and the Anitevke town next to Kiev. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were invested in purchasing the medical equipment.
The inauguration of the centers took place in various cities with the participation of Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, rabbi of Zhitomir and Western Ukraine; Rabbi Shaul Horowitz, rabbi of Vinnitsa; and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenstein, rabbi of Chernovich; all under the Federation of the Jewish Communities in the CIS headed by the Chief Rabbi of Russia Rabbi Berel Lazar.
The centers were inaugurated during a tour of the Rabbinical Center of Europe (RCE) led by Rabbi Arie Goldberg, Director General of the RCE; Rabbi Yosef Bainhaker, Deputy Director General of the RCE; and Rabbi Avraham Abba Torezki, Secretary of the European Council. They expressed great admiration of the impressive development in activity of the educational institutions, schools, and kindergartens in the various cities.
The European Chesed Center is an enormous project initiated by the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, undertaking the opening of 50 centers for lending medical equipment in 50 cities in Europe. The project began with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, to assist European Jews in need of medical equipment. Each branch offers the community medical equipment servicing all ages.
The project is a great relief for the Jewish communities in Europe, providing a necessary solution for Jews in need of medical equipment. The branches will operate under the responsibility and management of the rabbis of the various cities. The project is part of the extensive activities of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, which operates among European communities. Part of the extensive assistance to rabbis and their communities in all areas of Judaism includes assistance in building mikvahs, training rabbis, many varied educational projects, menorah distributions, parcels, matzah deliveries, and more.
The delegation visited the educational institutions in the various cities and took a close look at the extensive activities in the various cities. They were amazed at the development of communities where there are educational institutions and charitable activities which include relief kitchens, clothing distribution for those in need, food packages, provisions, and many other things. All the activities take place throughout the year under the umbrella organization of the Federation of the Jewish Communities of the CIS (FJC), headed by the city rabbis.
The delegation ended the tour with an impressive visit to the village of Anitevke near Kiev, led by Rabbi Moshe Reuven Asman. The members of the delegation viewed the many activities in the Jewish community, which consists of dozens of families. The place has a long and impressive list of educational and charitable institutions.
A new branch of the European Chesed Center for lending medical equipment was inaugurated in an impressive ceremony. Honored participants included the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, the city's mayor, and the deputy mayor of the district. After the ceremony, a cornerstone was laid for the center, which will serve the residents of Kiev and its environs.
During the tour, memorial monuments were inaugurated for mass graves in the city of Vinnitsa and in the town of Chervoni near Berdychiv, in memory of the Jews of the nearby cities who were murdered by the Nazis and their aides, some buried alive in a mass grave. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Gabay, who heads the Ohalei Tzadikim Association, uncovered the mass graves hidden in the forests where no humans had stepped for decades. Rabbi Gabay has been working to locate and rehabilitate Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe for many years.
Holocaust survivors and their descendants told hair-raising stories about the horrid cruelty and abuse by the Nazis and their aides, who led them tens of miles in the cold and snow, together with the rest of their families. Among those who spoke was Mr. Felix Zimmerman, the son of a Holocaust survivor, who told the story about his mother, Mrs. Rosa Roth, who saw how they killed her husband and little baby along with the rest of her family.
She later remarried to Alexander Zimmerman and her son Felix was born. Before she passed away, she asked for one wish – to place pictures of her husband and little son along with the rest of the family in her grave since they were not buried in a proper Jewish burial!
The Rabbinical Center of Europe also took on the mission of erecting memorials for Jews murdered in the Holocaust and were not buried in a proper Jewish manner.
The memorial events were attended by large crowds with their leading rabbis. All praised the special initiative of commemorating the Jews of the Holocaust who have no proper tombstone and expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the Chairman of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, for his massive support for all the various projects.