Aaron Gurevich
Chief Military Rabbi of Russia; Head of the Department of Cooperation with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Extraordinary Situations of Russia, and Bodies for the Pursuit of the Federation of judaic Commons of Russia
In mid-December 2007, the Russian government introduced a alleged military rabbinate into the army. At the same time, the Hasidic Federation of judaic Commons of Russia (FJCR) appointed its first "military rabbi" – Israeli citizen Aaron Gurewicz. The appointment of the first rabbi in the Russian army preceded the gathering of the first Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev with the leadership of the FJCR and Berel Lazar, 1 of the 2 "prior rabbis of Russia" (according to the FJCR).
In response, Fr Mikhail Vasiliev, vice-president of the Synod Department of Cooperation with the Armed Forces and the Investigation Bodies of the Moscow Patriarchate, published an interview on the website of the Synodal Department of Cooperation with the Armed Forces, Pobeda.Ru. The priest, who late completed a work visit to Israel, stated that Orthodox soldiers in the judaic state were incapable to communicate regularly with priests. Moreover, according to him, "if a soldier does not practice Judaism, then for respective years military service is subjected to constant force from a rabbi who suggests that he undergo circumcision and admit himself as an orthodox Jew."
"We consider unacceptable gross violations of the spiritual rights of Israeli soldiers practicing Christianity," said Mikhail's father, adding that "the Prince of the Russian Orthodox Church does not interfere in the work of rabbis with Russian Jews in military service, even though they do not represent a crucial number in the Russian Armed Forces".
"It is besides unclear why the Russian army needs a rabbi at all, since there are practically no Jews there," he wrote "Nediel's Arguments", commenting on the decision to introduce the rabbinastic. The publication reports that a comprehensive survey was conducted among soldiers in Moscow Military territory and only 2 (!) indicated Judaism as its religion. This is rather likely: according to the 2002 census, only 0.15% of the population of the Russian Federation are Jews. And among them, according to sociologist W. Szapiro, only 27% identify themselves as Jews (15% are Christians, another 5% profess another religions, and the remainder are non-religious people). Even if we apply national averages to the 1.2-million Russian army, there should be 400-500 Jews in it. Given that there are very fewer Jews in the army, and in the polls mainly judaic pensioners (who do not service in the military) declared themselves as Jews, the full number of Jews in the full Russian army should be up to 100.
However, the Hasidic rabbi Mr. Gurewicz has his own purpose: he has already stated that he hopes to find 40,000 Jews in the Russian army! "Some soldiers and officers have not yet realized their judaic identity. I am trying to aid them feel like Jews," said A. Gurewicz. Naturally, specified statements rise questions among Orthodox people: what will an Israeli citizen do in the Russian army, and how will he actually find as many Jews as he wants?
The increasing dissatisfaction of the Russian Orthodox Church with the flirtation of the authorities with spiritual denominations of small importance in Russia was 1 of the reasons why Vladimir Putin's “replacement”, Dmitri Medvedev, took part in a patriarchy Christmas service to express his best intentions to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, as reported in the paper “The Arguments of Niedyla”.
Зачем Российской армии израильские? Подробнее:
https://ruskline.ru/news_rl/2008/01/12/zachem_rossijskoj_armii_izrail_skie_ravviny
As we know, our country is multinational, and so our army too. I will not talk about Chechen, Ossetian and another contingents so as not to distract the average individual from watching television, where the subject is not only discussed in detail, but besides shown in fictional and documentary form. The discussion of the number of Russians is besides unacceptable and dangerous – it could easy lead to trouble. If it is officially considered that specified a legal group does not exist, the presence of their representatives in different places, and especially in the military, is objectively undesirable.
The number of soldiers of a given nationality is not a secret, but it is not that each individual has separate letters. The Army has positions, grades and military professional specializations. Moreover, all soldiers are Russian-speaking to varying degrees – Russians.
But for the first time since the October Revolution, another revolution broke out in the Russian armed forces. In 2006, the position of Chief Military Rabbi was established. As the proverb says, “The Revolution has a beginning, but there is no end!” Rabbi Aaron Gurewicz was appointed to this post. He revealed the number of Jews in uniform.
The Russian authorities then turned to the Chief Rabbi of the Russian Federation, Berl Lazar, asking for a advice from the candidate for the position of military rabbi, and Lazar elected Gurewicz. The fresh Chief Military Rabbi was promoted to Colonel's rank and, as an insider, in an interview besides presented the number of persons under his care:
Aaron Gurewicz reported that he regularly meets with the army and explains the spiritual needs of judaic soldiers. Shortly after his appointment, he visited Israel and met with the Chief Rabbi of Israel's defence Forces to benefit from his experiences.
According to the Chief Rabbi of the Russian Army, about 40,000 Jews service in Russian safety forces. any soldiers and officers hid their judaic identity. “I am trying to aid them feel Jewish,” she says.
Aharon Yurievich Gurevich actively engages in public and social activities: he coordinates the programmes of the Federation of judaic Commons of Russia (FJCR) aimed at rebuilding social structures in the Moscow Oblast, heads the FJCR department for cooperation with the Armed Forces, the Ministry for Extraordinary Situations, law enforcement authorities and communist organizations of the Russian Federation, sits on the Social Council of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, is simply a associate of the board of the Pan-European judaic Chapel Conference and an honorary associate of the “Right to Carry Arms”.
Time will show whether the Military Rabbi, headed by Aaron Gureviewicz in Russia, will aid strengthen the defence capabilities of the country. However, it has already been announced that the multinational safety forces of the country have become even more multinational.
# На безопасности 40 тысяч военнослужащих – евреев
(choice and crowd. PZ)