When Vitali Klitschko—the mayor of Kiev, Ukraine—traveled to Israel last week on a diplomatic visit, he was accompanied by a bevy of politicians and one rabbi: Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Jonathan Binyamin Markovitch, emissary to the city since 2000.

Klitschko was elected in May to a four-year term.

The mayor met with high-level members of the Knesset and other leaders, accompanied by Markovitch. The rabbi also helped guide Klitschko, who is a former heavyweight boxing champion, to a number of sites during his first visit to Israel as an elected official.

One such stop was to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

The group saw a number of sites in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, including Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.
The group saw a number of sites in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, including Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.
In the Hall of Names, which contains pages of testimony commemorating the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis.
In the Hall of Names, which contains pages of testimony commemorating the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis.
Many exhibits evoke emotional responses from visitors, including from the mayor's entourage.
Many exhibits evoke emotional responses from visitors, including from the mayor's entourage.