The Russian news agency “Ria Novosti” published an interview last night (Friday) with the 86-year-old Rabbi Adolf Shayevich, the former chief rabbi of Russia and one of the few Russian Jews who support the war in Ukraine. When asked about the possibility of Jewish communities in Russia and Israel helping to calm the situation, the rabbi harshly criticized Israel and said: “In Israel there is no orderly decision-making process and the government changes once every six months. There are elections after elections – in such a situation it is impossible to influence anything.”
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In the interview, Shayevich said that “the important prayer for those who live in Russia is of course for its prosperity, that God will protect it from internal and external enemies.” Regarding the refusal of some of the Jewish citizens of the Russian Federation to enlist in the state army and go to the battlefield in Ukraine, Rabbi Shayevich said: “There is no prohibition among Jews against taking up arms during a military operation. If there is a danger to the state, what should we talk about? In Israel, both men and women serve in the army. Defending the homeland is a sacred thing.”
Rabbi Shayevich was a Jewish spiritual authority back in the days of the Soviet Union and became the chief rabbi of Russia after its disintegration. In 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Rabbi Berel Lazar in his place, who refuses to publicly support the invasion. It is possible that this extensive interview is one of the government’s ways of taking revenge on the Jewish establishment that refuses to align itself with official Russia.