- Arie Zeev Raskin
Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin, born in
1976 , is thechief rabbi ofCyprus and the firstrabbi on the island in many years. cite web |title=First synagogue opens in Cyprus |url=http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/eastern_europe/2788 | accessdate=2007-07-24 ]He moved to Cyprus in
2003 with his wife Shaindel and their children in an effort to introduce Jewish life onto the island.cite web | title=A mediterannean congregation |url=http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/April05/archives05Apr15-09.html | accessdate=2007-07-24] He had previously lived inKiryat Malachi inIsrael . He is a follower of theChabad-Lubavitch branch ofHasidic Judaism . In Cyprus, he set up aChabad house inLarnaca , close to the international airport, to serve around 300 Jewish families on the island, as well as Jewish travellers and tourists.Rabbi Raskin and his family live in the
Larnaca Synagogue , which also houses a dining room, English and Hebrew library, and a kindergarten. Other activities at the Centre include a wide variety of classes and programmes designed to reach all ages and levels of Jewish learning. Activities include Discussion groups on Jewish issues, weeklyTalmud andTorah study groups, specialJewish holiday programmes, Jewish email services and a website,Shabbat meals and tourist assistance. Rabbi Raskin was crowned as the official Rabbi of Cyprus on Monday 12th September 2005, at the dedication ceremony of the Centre which was performed by Chief Rabbi of IsraelYona Metzger and a representative of RabbiJonathan Sacks chief rabbi of theUnited Kingdom , Reverend Weissman. In the synagogue, Rabbi Raskin was draped with atallit and officially took on the leadership of the Cyprus Jewish community. Other guests at the ceremony included the Israeli ambassador at the time, Zvi Cohen-Litant, RabbiMoshe J. Kotlarsky , Vice Chairman of the Lubavitch educational division at Lubavitch World Headquarters, the Cypriot Education and Culture minister Pefkois Georgiades, and Larnaca’s deputy mayor Alexis Michaelides as well as members of the government, politicians, diplomats and other local leaders.cite web | title=Rabbi Raskin, A Chabad Emissary, To Be Named Rabbi Of Cyprus Jewish Community |url=http://www.kosherdelight.com/KDMagSep_10_05RabbiRaskinCyprus.shtml | accessdate=2007-07-24 ]By 2006 the building of
Mikva ("ritual pool") Mei Menachem was completed, and a summer centre inAyia Napa and the Cyprus International Jewish School were opened. "Our primary goal is to improve the quality of Jewish life for every Jew in Cyprus: the moral values and rich traditions that Judaism has to offer are things that no Jew should be deprived of." Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin - Rabbi of Cyprus." [ [http://www.jewishcyprus.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/99716/jewish/About-Us.htm About Us] Chabad Lubavitch of Cyprus]References
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