Kyiv students plant seeds to grow partnership with Israeli special needs charity

Students from a Jewish school in Ukraine have planted Tu Bishvat seedlings cultivated by young women with special needs from Israel to further the special relationship between the two communities.

The moving ceremony at the Or Avner Jewish School in Kyiv, the country’s capital city, was held to support recipients of care from Israel’s Ohel Sarah organisation.

The planting took place in the schoolyard, which was damaged by a Russian UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle or drone) attack four months ago, with Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov and numerous foreign diplomats attending.

Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, Chief Rabbi of Kyiv, who initiated the partnership which continues the annual tradition of Tu BiShvat plantings between the two countries, said: “This is a circle of giving that connects communities even in challenging times.”