Ukraine – Ukraine President Orders Return Of 700 Confiscated Torah Scrolls

Ukraine – Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed last week a presidential order to return an estimated 700 Torah scrolls confiscated from Jewish communities during the Soviet Union’s Communist rule. The decision is seen as an attempt to mollify Jewish and Israeli opinion in advance of a visit to Israel by Yushchenko next week.

The issue of state-held Torah scrolls has touched many nerves over the last year. The Jewish communities in Kiev and Zhitomir have been using scrolls on loan from the government, but, a few months ago, the state archive in Kiev demanded the return of the scrolls, citing misuse. [haaretz]