Prof. Salzman (Photo: Shabbat Square)
Rabbi Pinchas Zalman, rabbi of Moldova, was appointed today (Tuesday) at the rabbinical gathering in Bucharest, Romania, as a member of the permanent conference of the European Rabbinic Conference. After the appointment, he gave a special interview to the Shabbat Square, in which he talks about the bones of the Jews found in his country, the joy at the overthrow of the government and the situation of the refugees.
First reaction to the prestigious appointment?
“Indeed, I am happy that I received the appointment, and I join the small circle of rabbis, and that it has a great influence on what is happening with the Jewish communities, and of course, it will help me with the needs of my community. I am happy that the rabbis made the decision to add me to them.”
In an interview with the “Shabbath Square” messenger for the conference
Last time we met in Germany, half a year ago – in the midst of the war with Ukraine, what is happening now?
“That’s right, I arrived there on a special plane for a few hours, it was at a peak time in terms of refugees, those were the days when hundreds and even thousands of refugees came to us every day, at the same time a large delegation from the USA arrived to help us.
“The truth is that until now refugees are flowing to us and we are housing refugees in hotels in Moldova. It has decreased significantly since that time, but we are still taking in refugees – mostly ordinary people who understand that they cannot stay in Ukraine.”
What is the government’s attitude to the war?
“The government is a bit pro-Russian, but in the last elections we saw that the majority of the people supported parties that actually sympathize with Ukraine, similar to what happened in Israel.”
What does the rabbi think about the new government that is expected to be formed?
“First of all, I’m very happy that the previous government fell, it really persecuted us, they didn’t help with the reception of refugees in Israel, and they didn’t help us with the refugees here, they promised us that they would help and based on that we took out loans, they did something that shouldn’t be done. Obviously I’m happy that they’re going home “.
We heard here at the conference about an exciting story about the bones of Jews found in Transistria
“That’s right. Just first I’ll give an introduction – the Bolshevik revolution that took place in Russia in 1917 under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, began one of the darkest and murderous periods in world history. Throughout the decades of communist rule, millions of people were murdered, tortured and exiled for no injustice. A huge mass grave that was discovered Recently in the Transnistria region of Moldova, revealing some of the horrors.
“The grave of the mass killing was found following works done in an old military base near Tiraspol, the capital of the district, following the war in Ukraine. During the excavations, large pits began to be discovered one after another, filled with thousands of bodies that were killed there between 1917-1930 under the rule of the dictators Lenin and Stalin, most of the dead : Jews accused of opposing the communist regime.
“Documents were also found at the scene documenting the names and details of the dead in each of the killing pits and the crime for which they were destined to die (usually by firing squad). The documents describe the life of the Jews under the communist rule, the Jewish schools that operated in hiding, the attempts to establish contact with Jewish organizations in the world and the local organizations to maintain Jewish activities in hiding. For example, it appears on one of the murdered that he was a teacher at a Jewish school, on another name it appears that he was in contact with officials in Palestine and so on. Among the dead on the spot, men, women and children.
“In recent weeks, the President of the Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, contacted me and informed him and Mr. Yuri Kreichman, the chairman of the Jewish community in Tiraspol, about the discoveries and that the government is interested in giving the murdered people the respect they deserve, taking care of their burial properly, and erecting a monument in memory of those who perished. To date, 3 killing pits have been dug, and according to estimates there are six or seven more killing pits. According to local experts, the number of those murdered is somewhere between thousands and tens of thousands, most of them Jewish.”