Chief Rabbi of Moscow refused to support the war and left Russia
Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt left for Israel two weeks after the start of the so-called “special operation”. Now he leads the community from there and does not support the war unleashed by Russia, despite pressure from the authorities of this country. The daughter-in-law of Rabbi Avital Chizhik-Goldshmidt told about this. – I can finally share that my relatives, Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldshmidt and Rebbetzin Dara Goldshmidt, were pressured by the authorities to publicly support the “special operation” in Ukraine, and they refused,” wrote Avital Chizhik-Goldshmidt. Avital Chizhik-Goldshmidt lives in New York and works as a journalist, now that her loved ones are safe, she decided to publicly declare this. The rabbi himself does not comment on the events. Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar also spoke unflatteringly about the special operation, but remained in Russia. We also note that the Russian government put pressure on the heads of other faiths, but not all of them agreed to openly support the war in Ukraine. In particular, the head of the Lutheran community, Dietrich Brauer, left Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church and its head, Patriarch Kirill, actively support the aggression against Ukraine. They wanted to add his person to the next EU sanctions list, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who opposed the inclusion of religious figures on sanctions lists, prevented him. .
