Israel to commemorate World War II veterans and siege of Leningrad
Event comes amid Israel’s increased efforts towards commemorating Red Army soldiers fallen in World War II
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFPRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu greets the bemedaled veteran of the Red Army Emil Zigel on Victory Day. (photo credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)
On Tuesday, November 12 at 12:30 pm, a cornerstone laying ceremony will be held in the Sacher Garden in Jerusalem, commemorating the Red Army fighters of World War II and the siege of the city of Leningrad (today's Saint Petersburg). Notables figures attending the ceremony include Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon, Deputy Governor of St. Petersburg Vladimir Kneginin, Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Zeev Elkin, President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Michael Mirilshvili, Businessman and philanthropist Viktor Vekselberg, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Vyktorov, Jerusalem Development Authority CEO Eyal Haimovsky and former MK project initiator Leon Litinetsky.The monument was funded in part by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) and businessman Victor Vekselberg. Other donors include the KKL-JNF, Keren Hayesod and the Russian Jewish Congress.The monument is designed to be 8.5 meters tall and 2.5 tons, and is aimed at highlighting the heroism of Red Army fighters and Leningrad residents against the Nazis, in which approximately seventy thousand Jewish fighters also lost their lives.In the past years, Israel has used Red Army soldier commemorations as a means for strengthening Israel-Russia relations. The monument will serve as an official venue for celebrations of the victory over the Nazis, in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.
