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Ukraine’s Jews Prepare for Chanukah During Wartime
A menorah.
JNS.org – Jewish communities in Ukraine are preparing to celebrate their third Chanukah under wartime conditions, hoping that light will dispel the darkness brought by the ongoing conflict.
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) is organizing extensive holiday activities, continuing a tradition since its establishment in the 1990s.
The light of Chanukah will reach 169 Jewish communities in the country, even in some places with only a few Jewish residents. Working through the federation, Chabad emissaries will operate in cities and districts nationwide.
Despite freezing temperatures, Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU) warehouses across Ukraine are packing thousands of festive kits for distribution to the Jewish population.
Central candle-lighting ceremonies will be held in city centers, with the main national ceremony taking place in Kyiv’s Maidan Square with public officials and foreign ambassadors in attendance. These ceremonies will be made possible through special permits from authorities to allow Jews to celebrate Chanukah publicly, despite the war with Russia.
Billboards announcing lighting ceremonies are being displayed in major city centers as part of the religious obligation to publicize the miracle of Chanukah.
This year, “Heroes of Ukraine,” Jews who were wounded on the Russian front and received medals for heroic combat actions, will be honored with lighting the central menorahs, recognizing their representation of the fight for freedom and personal sacrifice.
In cities under bombardment, central menorah-lighting ceremonies traditionally held outdoors will move inside synagogues.
“We are at war, with daily bombings,” said Rabbi Nachum Ehrentroi, rabbi of the city of Zaporizhzhia, on the banks of the Dnieper River in the country’s southeast. “It’s life-threatening for people to gather on the street; it’s absolutely forbidden.
“We will hold large lighting ceremonies every evening in the synagogue with an expected attendance of 450 Jews. We have a shelter in the synagogue adjacent to the lighting area, and in case of an attack, God forbid, we can immediately go down to the shelter,” he said.
Given the severe economic situation in Ukraine, food packages will be distributed to Jewish families, brightening Chanukah for thousands, alongside kits containing personal menorahs, kippot, Ukrainian-translated Psalms books and educational holiday games for children.
The food packages contain staples, including flour, oil, long-life milk, pasta, rice, baked goods, natural juices and sweets. Some products are manufactured in Ukraine under the kosher supervision of the Ukrainian Kashrut Committee U.K.
FJCU Chairman Rabbi Meir Stambler said: “Despite the escalating war, Chabad emissaries are doing everything to bring light into this great darkness. As then and now, we hope for miracles in the war with Russia and pray for victory in the Holy Land, for the swift return of the hostages, and for the coming of the Messiah.”
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.