Rabbi Ovadya Isakov, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Derbent, Russia, lobbied municipal head Feliks Kaziakhmedov over the reconstruction of the city's historic synagogue.

During their meeting, held in the days before Passover, the pair, along with deputy municipal head Savi Hanukaev, discussed improved relations between the southern locale's many ethnic groups.

Isakov, whose home was vandalized late last year, closed the meeting by presenting Kaziakhmedov with a box of matzah and a copy of the L'chaim magazine, which had recently profiled the Dagestan Jewish community. ...