Scores of Jewish soccer fans have been contacting or coming into Chabad-Lubavitch centers across Ukraine and Poland thanks to Euro 2012, the UEFA European Football Championship that officially kicked off Friday and is being played at eight stadiums in the two neighboring countries.
In Kharkov, Ukraine, fans have been streaming into the city since Friday, and many have been stopping by the centrally-located historic synagogue to take pictures or grab a meal from the kosher restaurant inside the synagogue.
“The city is filled with life,” said Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch in Kharkov and the city’s chief rabbi, adding that he had the opportunity to help some men don the Jewish prayer boxes known as tefillin.
While Moskovitz reported that 50 Israelis and about nine Dutch Jews came by for services or Sabbath meals last week, he’s expecting many more in advance of the city’s last game on Sunday.
“We will try to have everyone at our homes,” said Moskovitz, who is one of 10 rabbis in the city. “But if we need to, we’ll have a big meal at synagogue.”
Meanwhile, in Kiev, where the final game will be played on July 1, the Chabad House has been getting calls from fans coming in for games and looking for places to stay and eat.
“The stadium is very close to everything; to the Chabad House and to the synagogue,” Rabbi Jonathan Markovitch, director of Chabad of Kiev, said of the capital city’s Olympic National Sports Complex.
While he hasn’t seen many Jewish fans yet – Monday night’s was only the first game of the series – he’ll be setting up a booth to help male fans lay tefillin.
In Donetsk, two British fans are staying at the Chabad House’s hostel for tonight’s game against France.
“We have a coffee house here, a place to stay, and everything for the Sabbath,” reported Rabbi Boruch Lamdan, who runs the local STARS Jewish youth educational program.
“This is only the beginning,” said Lamdan, explaining that the city will be hosting four more games including the quarter- and semi-finals.
He warned that local Jews should steer clear of the streets at night because of rowdy fans leaving the stadium, which seats upwards of 50,000 people.
All told, locals are excited by the influx of visitors.
The Jewish community in Kharkov, said Moscovitz, is “very, very proud to have the championships here.”
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