Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin, born in 1976, is the Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...

 of Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 and the first rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 on the island in many years.

He moved to Cyprus in 2003 with his wife Shaindel and their children in an effort to introduce Jewish life onto the island. He had previously lived in Kiryat Malachi in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. He is a follower of the Chabad-Lubavitch

Chabad-Lubavitch

Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...

 branch of Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

. In Cyprus, he set up the Cyprus Jewish Community Centre in Larnaca

Larnaca

Larnaca, is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus after Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort...

, close to the international airport, to serve around 350 Jewish families on the island, as well as Jewish travellers and tourists.

Besides the Larnaca Synagogue

Larnaca Synagogue

The Larnaca Synagogue, located in the seaside resort town of Larnaca, Cyprus was inaugurated on September 12, 2005. It is the island's first and only synagogue and until its opening, the only European Union member to lack a synagogue....

, the Cyprus Jewish Community Centre also houses a dining room, English and Hebrew library, a mikveh and a kindergarten. Other activities at the Centre include a wide variety of classes and programmes designed to reach all ages and levels of Jewish learning. Activities include Discussion groups on Jewish issues, weekly Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 and Torah study

Torah study

Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...

 groups, special Jewish holiday

Jewish holiday

Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...

 programmes, Jewish email services and a website, Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

 meals and tourist assistance. Rabbi Raskin was nominated as the official Jewish Leader and the Chief Rabbi of Cyprus on Monday 12 September 2005, at the dedication ceremony of the Centre which was performed by Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger

Yona Metzger

Yona Metzger is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. His counterpart is Rabbi Shlomo Amar, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel since their appointments in 2003.-Background:...

 and a representative of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Jonathan Sacks

Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks, Kt is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His Hebrew name is Yaakov Zvi...

 chief rabbi of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Reverend Weissman. In the synagogue, Rabbi Raskin was draped with a tallit

Tallit

A tallit pl. tallitot is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays...

 and officially took on the leadership of the Cyprus Jewish community. Other guests at the ceremony included the Israeli ambassador at the time, Zvi Cohen-Litant, Rabbis from the Rabbinical Center of Europe, the Vice Chairman of the Lubavitch educational division at Lubavitch World Headquarters, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Rabbi Yekutiel Farkash from Jerusalem, the Cypriot Education and Culture minister Pefkios Georgiades, and Larnaca’s deputy mayor Alexis Michaelides

Alexis Michaelides

Alexis Michaelides is the deputy mayor of Larnaca, Cyprus.-Profile:Alexis Michaelides was born in Larnaca in 1950. He holds a B.A and a M.A. in Public Administration, and a M.A. in Business Administration. Since 1976 he is the director of a family company in Larnaca in which he is also a partner...

 as well as members of the government, politicians, diplomats, Rabbis from all over Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 representing their communities and other local leaders.

By 2006 the building of mikveh ("ritual pool") Mei Menachem was completed, and a summer centre in Ayia Napa

Ayia Napa

Ayia Napa is a resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus, famous for its sandy beaches. In recent years, apart from being a family holiday destination, it has become a 'party capital' together with Ibiza, Rimini and Mykonos...

and the Cyprus International Jewish School were opened. "Our primary goal is to improve the quality of Jewish life for every Jew in Cyprus: the moral values and rich traditions that Judaism has to offer are things that no Jew should be deprived of." Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin - Rabbi of Cyprus."