Tycoon Petro Poroshenko, known in Ukraine as the "Chocolate King," who won the Ukrainian presidential election by a landslide, said upon announcing his victory: "My first steps as president will focus on ending the chaos that prevails in Ukraine.".
Poroshenko, 49, a tycoon with political experience, previously served as Ukraine's foreign minister and economy minister. When the uprising against President Viktor Yanukovych broke out, he was the only oligarch to unequivocally support the protesters in Kiev. He owns the Roshen chocolate company, one of the world's top 20 chocolate manufacturers, and his personal fortune is estimated at $1.3 billion.
Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, one of the rabbis of Ukraine, says that Poroshenko is known as a supporter of the Jewish community in Ukraine. ""He is a supporter of the Jewish community, and has close ties to Jewish politicians in Ukraine. He is not a new figure in Ukraine, I have known him for about 15 years, and in the past he has even assisted in cases where his intervention was needed.".
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Bleich says that Poroshenko is of Jewish origin, and some say that he is even Jewish.
In the photo, taken two years ago, Levi Edrei, the liaison between the Foreign Ministry and Jewish organizations in Ukraine, is seen shaking the hand of the mayor of Vinnytsia in western Ukraine, during the inauguration of a medical center built using Israeli methods. In the middle, stands Poroshenko - then a member of the Ukrainian parliament.
At that meeting, he told Edri: "The Jews will be as good as the chocolate I produce.".
It should be noted that Vadim Rabinovich, president of the Ukrainian Jewish Congress and a major donor to Jewish institutions in Ukraine, also ran in the presidential election. Rabinovich sought to prove that there is no anti-Semitism in the country and that a Jew can run in the elections. He received 240,000 votes, which is 2.31 percent of the vote.
A total of 14 people ran for president. Rabinowitz finished in seventh place.
When he submitted his candidacy, Rabinowitz stated that as a believing Jew and proud of his Judaism, he would not be interviewed by the media on Shabbats and holidays, both during the campaign period - and even if he were elected president.
