Moscow Rabbi Denied Re-entry To Russia
Moscow, The Russian border control on Tuesday refused entry to Russia to the chief rabbi of the Moscow Choral Synagogue, Pinchas Goldschmidt, after he flew in from Israel.
Moscow sources told Interfax that Goldschmidt, who landed at Moscow''s Domodedovo airport, was sent back to Israel.
posted by VOS IZ NEIAS @ 9/27/2005 07:08:00 PM
4 Comments:
At 10:44 AM,
Anonymous said…
any ideas what this is all about?
At 11:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
they all say "no comment"
At 12:09 PM,
Anonymous said…
Moscow, 28 September: The refusal [on 27 September] of entry into Russia for Rabbi Pinchas Goldshmidt [chief rabbi of the Great Choral Synagogue of Moscow] may have been caused by new entry visa rules for foreign clergy, Russia's chief rabbi, Adolf Shayevich, told Interfax today.
"Because of the new procedure, a foreign priest, rabbi or clergyman can come to our country only at the invitation of an existing centralized religious organization. As far as I know, Rabbi Goldshmidt received his invitation to come to Russia not from the Great Choral Synagogue of Moscow, but from business circles," Shayevich said, adding that Goldshmidt is of Swiss nationality.
According to Shayevich, the Russian Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations is currently looking into the possibility of sending an invitation to Rabbi Goldshmidt so that he can return to Russia, where he has already been working for many years.
For his part, Borukh Gorin, a spokesman for another centralized Jewish organization - the Federation of Russia's Jewish Communities - has stated the readiness of his organization "to render every possible assistance to Rabbi Goldshmidt to get an entry visa if he asks for such help".
"Unfortunately, I don't know the details of the refusal of an entry visa to Rabbi Goldshmidt. If we are talking about a conflict within the community, it is absolutely outrageous and inadmissible to use such ways to settle accounts," Gorin told Interfax.
According to Gorin, "the situation requires an explanation as soon as possible because Rabbi Goldshmidt is quite a prominent figure in Russia's Jewish community and this incident is worrying because of the absence of any explanations whatsoever".
The president of the Russian Jewish Congress, Vladimir Slutsker, is deeply concerned by the fact that Goldshmidt was not allowed to enter Russia.
"Rabbi Goldshmidt is an authoritative spiritual leader who has made an invaluable contribution to developing the Jewish community in Russia," says Slutsker's statement, circulated in Moscow today.
The president of the congress has sent an official inquiry to the Russian Foreign Ministry, asking it to throw light on the cause of the incident.
"Vladimir Slutsker hopes that the situation will be resolved shortly and that Pinchas Goldshmidt will be able to continue his work in Russia," the press service of the Russian Jewish Congress has said.
At 12:13 PM,
Anonymous said…
RUSSIA IS STILL RUSSIA
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