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I Was Moscow’s Chief Rabbi. Russia Forced Me to Flee.

Putin claims he’s fighting Nazis in Ukraine while his regime intimidates Jews in Russia.

By , President of the Conference of European Rabbis. He was the Chief Rabbi of Moscow from 1993 to 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar (C) and President of the Federation of Jewish Communities Alexander Boroda (R) at the Kremlin in Moscow on Jan. 26.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar (C) and President of the Federation of Jewish Communities Alexander Boroda (R) at the Kremlin in Moscow on Jan. 26.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar (C) and President of the Federation of Jewish Communities Alexander Boroda (R) at the Kremlin in Moscow on Jan. 26. MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

I arrived in Soviet Russia in 1989, as perestroika and glasnost were in full swing, to help rebuild the Jewish community destroyed by 70 years of Communist rule.

Pinchas Goldschmidt is President of the Conference of European Rabbis and was the Chief Rabbi of Moscow from 1993 to 2022. He left Russia in March 2022.

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Tags: Religion, Russia, War

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