The New 'Beit Shmuel' Community Rehabilitation Center Has Opened in Anatevka

On May 7, an official opening ceremony was held in Anatevka, a small Jewish refugee town 30 km west of Kyiv, to inaugurate the new Beit Shmuel Community Rehabilitation Center. The center was established with the support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), its President Michael Mirilashvili, and Alexander Levin, Chairman of the Kyiv Jewish Community and EAJC Vice-President.

The center was named in honor of and dedicated to the memory of Alexander Levin's brother, Shmuel, who passed away tragically several years ago.

The new facility spans over 1,800 square meters across three floors. It is designed to serve various communal needs and will operate as a multidisciplinary medical and rehabilitation center.

The opening ceremony was attended by several hundred guests, including Vyacheslav Kucher, Deputy Governor of the Kyiv Oblast, Boris Lozhkin, President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, as well as rabbis, dignitaries representing various regions of Ukraine, and visitors from Israel and the United States. Also representing the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress were EAJC Vice-President Emmanuil Grinshpun, EAJC Director General Haim Ben Yakov, EAJC Treasurer and Chief of Staff Meni Bushuev, and Chairman of the Academic Council of the EAJC Institute, Professor Ze'ev Khanin.

Following the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, guests toured the adjacent cheder, a Jewish school for boys aged 5 to 13, and a unique wooden synagogue. The visit concluded with a celebratory luncheon for all attendees.

EAJC President Mirilashvili, who has personally sponsored numerous initiatives by Rabbi Asman, remarked that each visit to Anatevka reveals the successful completion of yet another project, allowing him to witness another small miracle.

The EAJC delegation, led by Michael Mirilashvili, visited Kyiv to attend the KyivJewishForum— Ukraine's inaugural international Jewish conference, which has become one of the largest in Europe. The EAJC is a partner of the main organizer of the forum, the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine.

Anatevka is home to the grave of Rabbi Motl of Chernobyl (the Chernobyl Rebbe) and is located along the route to Berdychiv.