The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has installed its first mezuzah

Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili, President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), met with Dmytro Razumkov, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Following the meeting, a Mezuzah was ceremonially affixed at the Verkhovna Rada building.

During their first bilateral meeting, Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili emphasized the critical importance of preserving the historical memory of Ukraine's Jewish community. He further stressed the necessity of maintaining a firm stance against the increasing acts of vandalism targeting Jewish religious, communal, and educational institutions in Ukraine, in order to prevent any further escalation of antisemitism in the nation.

The meeting took place as part of the inaugural Eurasian Jewish Summit, which opens today, November 27, in Kyiv. Jewish leaders from 32 countries of the Euro-Asian region have gathered for the summit. Key participants include Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili, President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress; Alexander Levin, Victor Naishuller, and Moshe Shvets, Vice Presidents of the EAJC; Dr. Haim Ben Yakov, Director General of the EAJC; Boaz Bismuth, Editor-in-Chief of Israel Hayom; representatives of the World Jewish Congress, and other distinguished guests.

Designed by architect Volodymyr Zabolotny and constructed in 1939 during the Stalinist era, the Verkhovna Rada building is regarded as an exemplar of "Ukrainian classical architecture." The three-story structure features a rigorous rectangular-symmetrical design. For decades, the building's glass dome was topped by the red-and-blue flag of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was replaced in 1991 by the blue-and-yellow national flag of independent Ukraine.