- December 11, 2025
- 7:31 pm
- World News
December 9–10, 2025, Moscow once again demonstrated its ability to host large religious shows. In the MTS Live Hall — a huge venue where events financed by structures close to the Russian authorities regularly take place — the celebration of Yud-Tes Kislev, the New Year of Hasidism, was held.
This is the main holiday of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. It is Chabad that fully controls the Russian Jewish infrastructure (FEOR) — and it was Chabad that organized the event.
But this year, the celebration acquired a scandalous international tone:
the chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel, David Yosef, one of the two official chief rabbis of Israel, flew to Moscow.
Yes, while:
- Russia is bombing Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kyiv;
- civilians are dying, including Jews,
- missiles, drones, and ballistic weapons are targeting people;
- in Ukraine, Chabad rabbis are rescuing their community members from under the rubble and fire…
At this moment, a high-ranking religious leader of Israel stands on the stage of a Moscow hall, smiles, receives applause, and participates in the ceremony.
Who participated in the Moscow celebration
The guest list was indicative:
✔ Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar
Effectively the religious representative of the Kremlin. Completely loyal to the Russian authorities.
✔ Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel David Yosef
One of the two official chief rabbis of Israel.
✔ President of FEOR Alexander Boroda
A person who has been shaping the “official” image of Judaism in Russia for decades — strictly under government control.
✔ Delegations of Chabad from Russia, the CIS, Israel, and the USA
Despite the war, sanctions, and Moscow’s international isolation.
✔ Representatives of Mountain Jewish and Bukharan Jewish communities
✔ And the main moment — the brit milah of Maxim Kharkin, a former Hamas hostage
An important part of the evening was the brit milah ceremony for former Hamas hostage Maxim Kharkin, who was released as part of an exchange (Israeli exchange). In Moscow, he was given the Jewish name Zalman-Zelig. Rabbi Yosef participated in this ceremony, which was presented by Russian media as a “sign of international Jewish solidarity.”
Moscow used this story to link its “mission” with the drama unfolding in the Middle East.
The presence of David Yosef at the brit milah emphasized:
The Israeli rabbinate seems to stand alongside Russian Jewry — right in the capital of the aggressor.
His presence was a shock not only for the Ukrainian Jewish community but also for many Israelis, especially those who follow Russia’s war against Ukraine and know the real scale of destruction, casualties, and humanitarian disasters occurring daily.
Against the backdrop of the Russian invasion, constant strikes on Ukrainian cities, and the deaths of Jews in these attacks — not abstract ones, but the same Chabad members, the same congregants, the same families with whom Chabad in Ukraine has worked for decades — the visit of an Israeli religious leader to Moscow looks like a question with no rational explanation.
But that is why it requires an honest analysis.
What is happening in Ukraine during this period
To understand the scale of the absurdity, it is important to describe the Ukrainian side.
During the Russian aggression, a significant number of people of Jewish origin have died. Chabad in Ukraine has experienced direct hits on its facilities, shelling of areas with a large number of Jewish families, and destruction of buildings where community members lived.
The Chief Rabbi of Ukraine (CHABAD) Moshe Reuven Asman worked under shelling, evacuated people from destroyed cities, organized humanitarian warehouses, and provided shelters. His work became an example of how a religious leader should act in conditions where rockets are falling on the community.
The Chief Rabbi of Kyiv (CHABAD) Yonatan Markovitch went even further: he sent an official appeal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the two chief rabbis of Israel, asking them to use Israel’s influence to stop the destruction of Jewish shrines and areas. His letter was an act of desperation: he described how Russian missiles were destroying buildings where Jews lived and emphasized that this was no longer isolated cases but a systematic process.
Against all these events, the rabbis of Ukraine expected at least moral support from Israel.
Instead, one of the chief rabbis of Israel appeared on stage in Moscow.
Why the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel went to Moscow
To understand this fact, it is necessary to explain the structure of the Israeli rabbinate.
In Israel, there are two chief rabbis:
– the chief Ashkenazi rabbi (Kalman Bar-Mor)
– the chief Sephardic rabbi (David Yosef)
These are not two levels of one system — they are two equal religious leaders, each representing their tradition.
However, in an international and political sense, these positions differ.
The chief Ashkenazi rabbi is traditionally a figure most closely connected with the state power of Israel, protocol, foreign policy, and representing Israel on the international stage. He is expected to exercise political caution, fully align with the state’s position, and avoid any actions that could harm foreign policy interests.
The chief Sephardic rabbi is much less politically constrained. Historically, Sephardic rabbis have carried out international religious missions, worked with diasporas, and maintained contacts with Eastern communities. Their trips are rarely perceived as political actions of Israel. This allows them to act more freely.
The Yosef family is one of the most influential Sephardic families in Israel, based on the legacy of the legendary Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party. David Yosef inherits this tradition and has a reputation as someone who can conduct independent external religious activities.
That is why for Moscow, for FEOR, and for the Russian Chabad structure, it was ideal to get the Sephardic rabbi of Israel — high enough to show “international support,” but not so politically significant as to cause an international scandal.
From the perspective of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, a rabbi’s visit that does not involve meetings with Russian officials and only appears at a religious event can be considered “unauthorized but not prohibited.”
But from the perspective of Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro — it looks different: a rabbi from Israel came to a country that is killing Jews.
Jews of Russia: who they are and why it is important to understand the visit
The Russian Jewish community is historically Ashkenazi.
According to demographic estimates:
– 85–90% of Russian Jews are Ashkenazi
– 10–15% are Sephardic, Bukharan and Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews, and Middle Eastern communities
However, in practice, almost the entire religious structure of Russian Jewry is under Chabad’s control.
FEOR and almost all synagogues in major Russian cities are managed by Chabad. Their leader is Berel Lazar, who has effectively become a state figure in Russia’s religious hierarchy, known for his unconditional loyalty to the Kremlin.
For the Russian authorities, the arrival of the chief rabbi of Israel is a huge symbolic capital. It shows that despite the war, despite international isolation, despite the destruction of Ukrainian Jewish communities, religious ties with Israel continue to work.
This is a convenient signal for the Kremlin:
“even Israeli chief rabbis come to us; therefore, Russia is not isolated.”
This is a political exploitation of religious presence.
Sephardim and Ashkenazim in Israel: differences, conflicts, and their role in today’s story
To understand why Rabbi Yosef’s visit became so sensitive, one must explain the internal structure of Israel.
Ashkenazim historically represented the elite of the religious and secular establishment. They controlled rabbinical courts, state rabbinical institutions, education, and most religious authorities.
Sephardic communities, arriving in Israel in the 1950s–1970s from the Middle East and North Africa, faced discrimination and gradually created their political force — primarily through the Shas party.
David Yosef belongs to this tradition.
He represents a community with its own understanding of religious diplomacy, its own history of relations with diasporas, and its own approach to what Israel can afford internationally.
The problem is that this approach poorly aligns with the sensitivity of wartime.
When the rabbis of Ukraine are hiding from Russian shelling, and an Israeli rabbi flies to Moscow to celebrate a religious holiday — the differences between Ashkenazi caution and Sephardic autonomy become painfully obvious.
Is it strange that the chief Sephardic rabbi participates in what is essentially an Ashkenazi holiday?
The visit of the chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel to the celebration of the 19th of Kislev in Moscow is an event that cannot help but raise questions. This holiday, organized by Chabad, has deep roots in the Ashkenazi tradition, and the celebration of the liberation of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (Alter Rebbe) has always been important only for Ashkenazi Hasidim.
So why is the chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel present at a holiday that is essentially closer to the Ashkenazi tradition?
Did Israel sanction this trip
Officially, the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not comment on the visit.
But in Israel, it is impossible for a rabbi of David Yosef’s level to leave the country and perform in Moscow without informing state structures.
The usual formulation is:
“The Foreign Ministry does not approve but does not prohibit religious trips if they do not include political meetings.”
But for the Ukrainian side, this does not matter.
For people burying relatives killed by missiles, something else is important:
why did the chief rabbi of Israel appear on the stage of a country responsible for their deaths.
How the rabbi’s visit to Moscow might be related to Netanyahu’s statement about “constant contacts” with Putin
A day before the Moscow celebration of the 19th of Kislev, Benjamin Netanyahu, incidentally a representative of Israel’s Ashkenazi political elite, spoke in the Knesset and stated that he maintains “constant contacts” with Putin and regularly talks with him. This phrase was not accidental: the prime minister effectively acknowledged that the strategic communication channel with Moscow remains operational and, in his words, “necessary for Israeli security, especially on the northern front.”
However, Netanyahu himself cannot afford any public step towards Russia: a direct visit or official gesture would lead to political consequences in relations with the US and Western partners. The Ashkenazi center of power operates through closed diplomatic mechanisms, and the prime minister emphasizes this line — contacts exist, but they should not be visible.
Against this backdrop, the appearance of the chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel in Moscow is the ideal “bypass route.” Formally, it is a religious visit, not connected with the state and not disrupting the foreign policy balance. In fact, it serves as a soft channel that allows maintaining contact where a politician cannot appear.
And in this combination — an Ashkenazi prime minister hiding the official channel, and a Sephardic rabbi able to appear publicly — the structure of parallel communication, which Netanyahu spoke about directly, is visible.
Conclusion
While Ukrainian Jews hide in basements under shelling;
while Rabbi Asman saves people;
while Rabbi Markovitch writes a letter to Netanyahu about the destruction of Jewish shrines;
while Russian missiles kill Jews in Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odesa —
at this time, one of the chief rabbis of Israel stands on the stage of a Moscow hall and participates in the celebration.
This is not just a conflict of perception.
This is a deep moral divide that cannot be explained by protocol, religious travel tradition, or Israel’s diplomatic logic.
This is a question that will be asked more loudly:
how is this possible — and what lesson should Israelis, Ukrainians, and the global Jewish community draw from this.
And that is why today, when questions of morality, responsibility, and Jewish solidarity once again become central, we at Nikk.Agency — Israel News | Nikk.Agency consider it necessary to raise such topics openly and honestly.
