Regional Gov. Valentina Matvienko told a delegation of North American Jewish lay leaders that the Jewish community of S. Petersburg is a vital component of public life in the Russian city.

“In our city, there are Jewish schools, a functioning Jewish student organization, and newspapers,” Matvienko said at her residence in Smolny as she welcomed members of the Jewish Federations of North America’s Prime Minister’s Mission to S. Petersburg and Israel.

The delegation was visiting the city to mark the 20th anniversary of Operation Exodus and its mission to protect Russian Jewry. After meeting with Matvienko, the visitors visited the city’s Great Choral Synagogue, where Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Menachem Mendel Pewzner, the city’s chief rabbi, and Jewish community chairman Mark Grubarg spoke about continued cooperation between North American communities and their Russian counterparts.