27 February 2008
A new Jewish community center and synagogue are to be built in the Russian city of Sochi, which has been selected to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. According to the AEN news agency, the announcement to build the center in Sochi in addition to the new synagogue, which already had been agreed upon, was made following a meeting between the city’s chief rabbi, Ari Edelkopf, and Semyon Weinstock, the head of the state corporation charged with developing the city’s infrastructure for the games.
“We love Russia and the city in which we live, and bless the state corporation and Mr. Weinstock for the accomplishment of all the tasks set forth by President Putin to continue to making this the best in the history of Olympic villages,” Edelkopf said.
Some had expressed concern that one synagogue might not be capable of providing adequate facilities for the athletes and tourists visiting Sochi, a resort city of nearly 400,000 beside the Black Sea.
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