Russian Rabbis refuse to leave despite political crisis

Berl Lazar, who is now the Chief Rabbi of Russia, has told Interfax that they will not leave, regardless of the ongoing political situation.

Their decision came as part of a meeting last week to discuss the Ukraine crisis, which led to the exit of Moscow’s Chief Rabbi, Pinchas Goldschmidt, and Rabbi Avigdor Nosikov.

“And politics is definitely not our business," Lazar said to Interfax. “To leave the congregations because of politics is, in my opinion, for a rabbi just a betrayal,” he said. “It means that for such a leader, the main thing is personal interest and not the interests of our people. This is a direct violation of the commandment “Ahavat Yisrael” (“Love for the people of Israel.” – “NGR”).

Call to denounce Russia's "special operation"

According to a report in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, JTA, the Board of Moscow Jewish Religious Society requested to extend Goldschmidt’s contract, despite his residence in Israel at the time. However, JTA cited an RBC report that he no longer held a post and that his contract ended at his congregation. Goldschmidt left Russia in March, just after the war broke out in Ukraine. Since his departure, he has called on other rabbis to denounce “Russia’s special operation” and has said to JTA that Russian authorities pressured him to support the war. At the same time, Goldschmidt has refused to comment on the specific events that led to him leaving the country.

“As I say goodbye to Moscow and Russia, I am thinking especially of one man: Albert Reichmann, who proposed me for the post of chief rabbi and who had faith in me that I would be able to fulfill that great responsibility,” he said to JTA. “I am leaving a community in distress. But from the outside, I will do my utmost to help my beloved community.” As referenced in the article, Albert Reichmann, 93, who is now in poor health, is a Canadian philanthropist who assisted in the “revival of Russian Jewry”.

"Made-up story"

Despite Goldschmidt’s abrupt departure from Russia, Lazar and FEOR president, Alexander Boroda, deny the allegations that he ever received pressure from the nation’s authorities.

“We believe that Pinchas Goldschmidt made up this story because no one but him was pressured. Never. No one else claimed anything like that”, Boroda told Interfax. “Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar has not experienced anything close to pressure, and neither have I.”

Boroda also said to Israel Hayom that there are two types of rabbis - those who come to invest in their communities and those who come only for the job contract.

“He (Goldschmidt) claims that those who remain in Russia support the war and he is the only one who opposes the war, that's why he left. This is wrong and disrespectful towards the Jews. If you look at what he did, what he built, what was happening inside his community, it becomes clear that he did not act for the benefit of the community and the Jews of Moscow and Russia,” he said in the interview.

Two types of Rabbis

Boroda also said to Israel Hayom Israel Hayom that there are two types of rabbis - those who come to invest in their communities and those who come only for the job contract.

“He (Goldschmidt) claims that those who remain in Russia support the war and he is the only one who opposes the war, that's why he left. This is wrong and disrespectful towards the Jews. If you look at what he did, what he built, what was happening inside his community, it becomes clear that he did not act for the benefit of the community and the Jews of Moscow and Russia,” he said in the interview.