Kupala Readings held in Israel’s Ashdod
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the State of Israel, Evgeny Vorobyov, joined Belarusian diplomats and the All-Israel Association of People from Belarus to organise traditional Kupala Readings in the city of Ashdod – as reported by the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Israel
It’s been informed that the literary readings were held on the city square named after Yanka Kupala almost a decade ago. Five years ago, a marble monument to the Belarusian poet was erected here. In his speech, Ambassador Vorobyov emphasised Ivan Lutsevich’s outstanding contribution to development of the Belarusian literature. The poet became a founder of the Belarusian literary language, a real symbol of the nation.
The event was attended by the Deputy Mayor of Ashdod, Eli Nacht, the Chairman of All-Israeli Association of Immigrants from Belarus, Mikhail Alshansky, activists and businessmen of the Belarusian diaspora, Israeli poets and lovers of Yanka Kupala's creativity.
According to the diplomatic mission, Ashdod is a twin city of Brest. One of the most numerous Belarusian communities in Israel live here, while about 130,000 Belarus-born people are registered in the State of Israel.
Israeli representatives regularly participate in international festivals held in Belarus. Representative offices of the Jewish agencies Sokhnut and Joint are established in Belarus. There are also acting Belarusian Association of Jewish Organisations and Communities, the Jewish Religious Association, and the Israeli Cultural Centre under the Embassy of the State of Israel. The Israel-Belarus Centre for Business and Cultural Relations works in Israel.
Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and the State of Israel were established on May 26th, 1992.
