JTA - 01.05.2004

 

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Georgian Jews have high hopes

Jews in the former Soviet republic of Georgia have high hopes for their country’s new president. Mikhail Saakashvili, elected Monday following a bloodless coup that ousted Eduard Shevardnadze, praised Georgia’s relationship with Israel and the Jewish people in a Dec. 26 appearance at a Shabbat prayer service in Tbilisi. The service was hosted by Israel’s ambassador to Georgia, according Mark Levin, executive director of the NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia. Some 10,000 Jews live in Georgia, where they have enjoyed relative tolerance.