Chabad of the Congo Celebrates 20 Years in Central Africa
The Chabad movement celebrated 20 years of presence in central Africa on Tuesday with a gala event at a Congo hotel, just two days after an attempted coup at the country’s presidential palace and a parallel attack at the Kokolo military camp.
Hundreds of guests attended the celebration at the Grand Hotel in Kinshasa, Congo. Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch came in from Washington, D.C. to take part in the event, joined by other members of the movement who flew in from across the world..
Chabad spokesman Yaacov Behrman said that representatives of the movement were not deterred by the recent violence. “The streets of Kinshasa are calm, and we feel very safe here,” he said.
Antoine Ghonda, the Roving Ambassador for the Congolese President, thanked the movement for its stalwart commitment even in the face of terror.