On 29 December in the building of the Samara Ecclesiastical Seminary there was a ceremony for signing a program regarding long-term cooperation between the Department of Science and Education of the administration of Samara province and the Samara diocesan administration.
The program is planned for the years 2001-2005 and provides for three basic areas of cooperation: education as a mechanism of formation of the spiritual and moral culture of society, social partnership (joint implementation of social programs), and scientific research activity in the areas of pedagogy, psychology, and other trends in science and culture.
The current program is a continuation of an agreement on a plan for joint events by the Chief Administration of Education and the Samara diocese in planning the celebration of the bimillennial of Christianity, which was signed on 1 December 1999. According to a report by the Department for Coordination of Informational Policy and Relations with Mass Media, the new program proposed an expansion of the sphere of cooperation between the church and a component entity of the [Russian] federation. (tr. by PDS)
HOLY SYNOD DECIDES TO ENTER MORE THAN 60 SAINTS IN THE CALENDAR OF THE
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
ITAR-TASS/Pravoslavie,
28 December 2000
The Holy Synod, which met in session on 27-28 December in Moscow, decided to enter into the saints' calendar of the Russian Orthodox church more than 60 saints. Among them are nine Serbian saints who perished during World War II, in addition to a synaxis of Russian new martyrs numbering another 57 persons.
The synod devoted great attention to the external activity of the church. It was decided to begin a dialogue with the Coptic church. The first session of the Coordination Committee and Theological Commission on this question will be held in Moscow in March. Members of the Holy Synod drew conclusions on the activity of the Russian Orthodox church in the outgoing year. The number of RPTs parishes abroad has increased. The St. Nicholas parish in Rome was transferred from ROCOR into the jurisdiction of the Moscow patriarchate. An annex of the Russian Orthodox church was created in the Canadian city of Toronto. In Cyprus a church of the holy martyr Dimitry of Saloniki was opened for Russian believers. Next year a church will be opened in the Chinese city of Labdarin.
The synod made several personnel changes. Archbishop Tikhon of Bronnitsy, who had headed the publishing department of MP, was appointed to the Novosibirsk see, replacing the late Archbishop Sergius. As head editor of the publishing house was named Archpriest Vladimir Siloviev, rector of the church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Staryi Simonov. New cloisters have been opened, two for men, in Ekaterinburg and Tula dioceses, and three for women, in Maikop, Perm, and Saratov provinces.
It is significant that this session of the Holy Synod coincided with the day of commemoration of the holy martyr Ilarion Troitsky, for who the chief theme of his theological works and addresses was "There is no Christianity with the church." (tr. by PDS)
ORTHODOX BELIEVERS OF UKRAINE CONSIDER THAT POPE'S VISIT TO KIEV MAY
COMPLICATE RELIGIOUS SITUATION IN REGION
Pravoslavie.ru,
29 December 2000
Orthodox of Ukraine have expressed concern that the planned visit by Roman Pope John Paul II to Kiev did not receive the agreement of the head of the Russian Orthodox church. This was stated in an appeal to Patriarch Alexis of Moscow and all-Rus by the congress of Orthodox brotherhoods of Ukraine that took place in the Kiev caves lavra. The pontiff's visit, in their opinion, can complicate the religious situation in the region that constitutes the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox church, which even without it is complex.
For strengthening the spiritual unity of both parts of Rus, the Ukrainian
Orthodox brotherhoods propose opening in Moscow representations of the
Kiev caves lavra and the Pochaev lavra and creating in Ukraine an annex
of the Saint Sergius lavra and other monasteries of central Russia. (tr.
by PDS)
UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX LEADER SEES AMBIGUITY IN PAPAL VISIT TO UKRAINE
The Associated Press
Kyiv Post, 05 Dec 2000
KYIV, Dec. 4 - A bishop of Ukraine's Orthodox church on Monday criticized a planned visit by Pope John Paul II, noting the bitter rivalry between Ukraine's Orthodox and Catholic believers.
The pontiff is planning to visit Ukraine in June, and the reaction of Orthodox clergy in this predominantly Orthodox nation has generally been chilly.
Bishop Augustin of the western Lviv and Galicia Orthodox diocese said Monday that President Leonid Kuchma 'as the head of state, had every right to invite any person he thinks right,' the Interfax news agency reported. 'But if the Vatican is interested in the opinion of the Ukrainian canonical Orthodox Church, the religious aspect of this visit should not be disregarded in the context of relations between Ukraine's Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers,' Augustin said.
The bishop complained that his diocese was nearly destroyed by Greek-Catholic rivals in 1992, when they seized a large number of Orthodox churches in western Ukraine, Interfax said.
'(These actions) have not been condemned by John Paul II to this day,' Augustin said. 'The negative attitude of the believers and bishops belonging to the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchy is well-founded.'
Ukraine, which has a significant Catholic minority, has been the scene of bitter clashes between Orthodox and Catholics over churches seized during the Soviet period. After the 1991 Soviet collapse, disputes erupted over church ownership.
Ukraine, like other former Soviet republics, has experienced a religious revival since the collapse of the officially atheist Soviet Union, but also scores of religious disputes. Besides battles with Eastern Rite Catholics, the country's dominant Orthodox Church has split into rival factions, who altogether comprise some 12,500 religious congregations.
CONSTANTINOPLE PATRIARCH PLANS TO VISIT UKRAINE IN SPRING 2001
ITAR-TASS/ Pravoslavie.ru,
27 December 2000
Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew plans to arrive in Ukraine after the Pascha holidays of 2001. This was reported to a corrrespondent of ITAR-TASS by people's deputy of Ukraine Taras Chernovil. He is a part of the official delegation of the Supreme Soviet that met with Patriarch Bartholomew. The purpose of the visit by the deputies of the parties of the right was to present a request for recognition and grant of official status for the so-called "Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kiev Patriarchate," which is headed by the excommunicated Filaret Denisenko.
In the words of Taras Chernovil, the Constantinople patriarch promised the parliamentarians his personal support for the resolution of this question. Patriarch Bartholomew stressed: "If Moscow refuses finally to make the necessary decision, the ecumenical patriarchate will unilaterally resolve the matter of the canonicity of the Ukrainian church." (tr. by PDS)
PATRIARCH AND MEMBERS OF HOLY SYNOD MEET WITH RUSSIAN PRESIDENT
from Communications
Service, OVTsS MP, 28 December 2000
On 28 December, soon after the conclusion of the session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox church, a meeting was held in the Kremlin of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus and members of the Holy Synod with the president of the Russian federation, V.V. Putin.
Questions discussed included the structuring of a system of church-state relations at the current stage of the life of Russia, participation of the Russian Orthodox church in the process of the training and education of young generations of citizens of the country, the international activity of the Moscow patriarchate, the circumstances of countrymen abroad, and participation of the church in the public life of the country. The hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox church again expressed its patriotic support of the Russian state authority and attempts to cooperate actively in the regeneration of Russia. (tr. by PDS)
AUTHOR SAYS NEW ANTHEM A HYMN FOR THE ORTHODOX
RFERL, 29 December 2000
President Putin told reporters on 28 December that it is possible that he will approve new words to Russia's national anthem by decree. Currently, an advisory panel is reviewing possible new lyrics. The author of the words to the old Soviet anthem, Sergei Mikhailov, has penned a new version, and he told Russian Television that the new lyrics are the "hymn of an Orthodox country." Meanwhile, not all television and radio stations have begun broadcasting Russia's new anthem, "Kommersant-Daily" reported on 28 December. According to the daily, only Radio Rossii played the anthem the previous day; however, Andrei Bystritskii, deputy chairman of All-Russia State Television and Radio Company, said by New Year's Eve all of its TV and radio stations will be playing the old Soviet tune. The management of Media-MOST's NTV and TV-6, in which Boris Berezovskii owns a large stake, maintain that they will not play the anthem since they are not state-owned. JAC
PENTECOSTAL THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE TO OPEN IN MOSCOW.
by Natalia Rysenko, Radiotserkov,
29 December 2000
On 10 January in Moscow will be held the opening of the Russian Correspondence Theological Institute of Pentecostals. This will be the highest theological educational institution established by the Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith--Pentecostals. As rector was named the vice chairman of the union for religious education, Bishop Nazar Pavlovich Reshchikovets. The basic task facing the institute is improving the religious education of ministers of the church without interrupting their spiritual labor and basic work. The first cohort will be created out of active ministers who are laboring as bishops, pastors, and deacons. The curriculum of the institute will comprise five years of correspondence study. Once each six months the students will gather for two weeks of continuous study. After successful completion of the entire curriculum and defense of a thesis the graduates will be granted the academic degree of bachelor of theology. (tr. by PDS)
In the Soviet district court of Cheliabinsk a hearing has begun on the complaint of a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses against the actions of the chair of the Commission on Human Rights of the governor's office of Cheliabinsk province, Ekaterina Gorina, according to a report from the news agency Blagovest-info. The session is accompanied by sign language interpretation since the congregation comprises people who are hard of hearing.
The Jehovah's Witnesses appealed to the court in connection with an incident in which Ekaterina Gorina, with the assistance of police officers [in April 2000], crudely interrupted their worship service that was being conducted in sign language in the building of one of Cheliabinsk's technical schools. The next day Ekaterina Gorina got from the director of the technical school a cancellation of the rental contract with the congregation.
Audio recording of the court session was forbidden, as was video taping of the sign language interpretation. The latter situation creates a difficulty for the Jehovah's Witnesses since members of the congregations are denied the possibility of objectively observing what happened in the court room, and the absent plaintiffs do not have the possibility of acquainting themselves with the course of the trial. Of the nine petitions submitted by attorneys for the Jehovah's Witnesses, only one was granted.
It is curious that the believers were forced to complain against the action of the district ombudsman who is supposed to be defending their rights. Ekaterina Gorina's responsibilities include giving help to residents of Cheliabinsk in drawing up appeals to the European Court on Human Rights in Strasburg.
A counselor of the office of the plenipotentiary on human rights of Russia, Mikhail Odintsov, stated that the office has a negative opinion about Ekaterina Gorina's actions and considers them to be illegal interference in the life of a religious society. They have already sent a letter to the governor of Cheliabinsk province requesting that the Jehovah's Witnesses not be deprived of the possibility of meeting for worship services.
In 2000 Ekaterina Gorin ran for the position of mayor of Cheliabinsk but was defeated. In her campaign speeches she often declared that she set the struggle with "American sects" as her personal mission. (tr. by PDS, posted 29 December 2000)
The Sabbath scandal in the Moscow choral synagogue has become sensational news for several foreign publications. In Israel the sad incident attracted special attention, where even television broadcasts were interrupted with breaking news reports about the attempted assassination of Rabbi Berkovich. Significantly not one of the western publications linked the incident with antisemitism. It seems to us that the view of the Israeli newspaper Ha-arets, which has its own interpretation of the Moscow events, is not without interest. The article is printed here without changes.
The first news reaching us from Moscow at the close of Sabbath seemed from the start to be a parody of a struggle in a Jewish village. It was reported that "the security guard of the choral synagogue in Moscow tried to drown the executive director of the Federation of Jewish Congregations in Russia, Abraham Berkovich, in a ritual bath mikvah."
Later we managed to find out the underlying motive of what happened. Berkovich, one of the leaders of the Federation of Jewish Congregations which is closely linked with the name of the powerful businessman Lev Levaev, was praying in the synagogue, whose rabbi Pinkhas Goldwhmidt is associated with the other camp of Russian Jewry, namely with Vladimir Gusinsky. According to representatives of the Federation of Jewish Congregations, on that day he was severely beaten and then his head was shoved into the synagogue's mikvah.
In an interview with the newspaper Ha-arets, Rabbi Goldshmidt said that according to information he had, "Berkovich was simply thrown into the mikvah with his clothes on," but he was not drowned. Goldshmidt acknowledged the complete seriousness of what happened and expressed his apologies.
The conflict between the two camps of Russian Jewry has already excited the Jewish community for a rather long time. The causes of the confrontation are confusing and not completely clear, although the Federation of Jewish Congregations, headed by Rabbi Lazar, is a unified structure of Jewish religious congregations in Russia, and the Russian Jewish Congress, whose president is Gusinsky, is the political agency of Jewry of Russia and includes nonreligious members.
Several months ago the Gusinsky camp made a mistake when the rabbi he supports, Adolf Shaevich, who then was chief rabbi of Russia, addressed the American mass media and the council of presidents of Jewish orgniazations of USA, declaring that the Putin administration had asked him to resign his position in favor of Rabbi Lazar. Shaevich's speech evoked an international sensation. But surprisingly, Shaevich admitted that actually the request about surrendering his authority came from the Jewish Chabad movement and not from the president's associates.
After this, the Jewish congregations of Russia, troubled by the situation that had developed, held an election of a new chief rabbi, at which Rabbi Lazar received the position. Thus today in Russia there are two chief rabbis: Shaevich, appointed in the years of the communist regime, and Lazar, who is considered the recognized leader of Jewish congregations.
It is not known what was the cause of the worsening of the conflict which reached its culmination at the end of Sabbath. Goldshmidt himself said in his Ha-arets interview that although he would not justify what happened, the very appearance of Berkovich in "his synagogue" was a provocation. Goldshmidt also claimed that Lazar's public statement in which he said that the struggle of the authorities with Gusinsky does not have a political or antisemitic character demonstrates his cooperation with the authorities. Having learned about this, Rabbi Lazar responded that although he had not made such a claim, it fully corresponds with his opinion: "The struggle with Gusinsky not only is not antisemitic, it is in general a mistake to consider the current government antisemitic."
If one sets aside the political discussion, then what happened is connected, as a source in Moscow explained to us, with the disappointment of the former leaders of Russian Jews over the loss of their former positions. Actually, at this time, when Gusinsky is outside the country and it is not known whether he will be able to return to Russia, the status of the Russian Jewish Congress is quite low. On the other hand, V. Putin attended the opening of the large community center, and last week was photographed with Rabbi Lazar at the ceremony of the lighting of the first Hanukkah candle. (tr. by PDS, posted 29 December 2000)
Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus expressed hope that in the new century relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches will improve, Echo Moscow reported, citing Interfax.
"I would like to hope for a positive development of these relations," the patriarch said in an interview with Interfax, having noted that "many common concerns have arisen among Orthodox and Catholics," because of the "growth of the secularization of contemporary society."
Alexis II is convinced that "the dynamic development of world political and economic processes and the informational and cultural globalization are moving Christians to common action." "We can and we must work together for the sake of the moral regeneration of nations, for the sake of strengthening people's faithfulness to God-given moral values, and for the sake of resisting the anarchy of chaos, destruction, and moral nihilism," the head of the Russian church stressed.
At the same time the patriarch regretted that "between the two churches there now stand, as previously, serious problems that have arisen for reasons that are not at all the fault of Orthodox Christians." In the first place is the "situation in western Ukraine, where with the active support of Greek Catholics three Orthodox dioceses have been literally devastated, as well as the proselytizing activity of certain Catholic organizations in Russia and other countries of CIS where under the guise of 'social work' attempts are being made to convert children of the Orthodox church to Catholicism."
"We are awaiting from the Vatican real steps directed toward the normalization of the situation of the canonically Orthodox parishes in western Ukraine," the patriarch declared. The Russian church, he added, "also has a right to expect full honesty and openness from Catholics who are conducting activity in places where the Orthodox population predominates." "If they consider Orthodoxy to have just as much the grace of God and salvation as Catholicism, then what is the point of persistent attempts to convert people to the other faith?" Alexis II queried.
In conclusion he again stressed that the "future of our mutual relations with the Catholic church and, in particular, the level of our dialogue depend on overcoming these difficulties I have noted."
The primate of the Russian church has often declared in the past that his meeting with the pope of Rome is impossible until such time as the basic problems in relations between the Moscow patriarchate and the Vatican are worked out. In the opinion of the patriarch, such a meeting should not be held simply "for the television camera; it must be carefully prepared." (tr. by PDS, posted 29 December 2000)
Thousands of Islamic and Protestant groups, along with dissident Christian Orthodox faiths, are at threat after failing to win registration under a controversial Russian religion law.
Two months ago, the Russian foreign ministry said that just over half of the estimated 17,500 religious groups in Russia had been registered on the government's list of authorized faiths in time for the new year.
"This law contravenes the Russian constitution, which proclaims the equality of religions in Russia," said Alexei Marchenko, a Moscow representative for the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).
The Salvation Army, a Protestant charity, says the 1997 law on religions that comes into effect Monday, is not only unconstitutional for penalizing foreign missionaries and certain Christian minorities, but also arbitrary.
"We are registered with all the regional authorities, except in Moscow. In the capital, they rejected our demand on the pretext that we are a subversive military organisation. It's absurd," Colonel Kenneth Baillie of the Salvation Army protested.
With a flock numbering 100,000, the 1,400 Baptist communities implanted in Russia face the same problem. The Pentecostalists, for one, saw their publications banned in the central Volga town of Penza.
The situation is even tougher for the Jehovah's Witnesses, who have been taken to court four times since 1996 and denounced for their "aggressive proselytism" by Russia's Orthodox Church.
"In North Ossetia, we obtained all the necessary authorizations, bought a venue which we had started to repair, and when everything was ready we were thrown out without any reason," said senior church figure Yaroslav Sivulsky.
The Mormon official pointed out the Orthodox church was one of the heaviest backers of the religion law -- criticized by both the Vatican and Washington -- accusing it of censoring Russians' faith.
"The Orthodox church wants to have an ideological monopoly in Russia," Marchenko said.
Small churches of religious organizations recently implanted in Russia who have not been able to register are likely to be downgraded to "groups."
This means they would lose their right to hold services in public places, distribute literature, own property or invite foreign guests, according to Russia's Law and Religion Institute.
"The Orthodox church has never condemned the many acts of violence which our missionaries have suffered from in the name of Orthodoxy," fumed Marchenko, whose Mormon church has 11,000 members in Russia.
Weakened by years of repression, the Orthodox church has looked with anxiety as sects and religions have begun to spread on its canonical territory.
In 1997, then President Boris Yeltsin, who publicly associated himself with Alexis II, promulgated the law declaring Russia's five traditional religions to be Orthodoxy in first place, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism.
But even for these religions, groups do not automatically receive the right to register if they are from dissident persuasions.
The Orthodox Renaissance Church, founded by priest Gleb Yakunin, was one religious group denied registration.
"These sects are trying to divide our people," Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II says in justification, pointing out that they had greater financial resources than traditional religions in Russia.
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo said earlier this year he was "concerned" about the expansion of sects in Russia, adding that the situation threatened national security. (Copyright Agence France Presse, posted 29 December 2000)
SALVATION ARMY UNDER FIRE IN RUSSIA<
by Margaret Coker
Cox News Service, 29 December 2000
The Salvation Army, best known to Americans for its bell-ringing volunteers seeking charitable donations, is not having a very merry Christmas in Russia.
The Christian goodwill organization, which feeds 6,000 Russians per month, may be forced by Moscow officials to shut down its social programs in the capital on Jan. 1.
"We've been told they will not register any foreign army on Russian soil. (They apparently think) we are a militarized organization bent on the violent overthrow of the Russian government," said Kenneth Ballie, head of Russian operations for the Salvation Army. "But that's just nonsense. We have definitely been singled out. There is bias and prejudice, but we don't know what it is from."
This is the latest in a series of crackdowns on foreign religious groups, including Baptists and Pentecostals, resulting from a 1997 law passed with the support of the Russian Orthodox Church. Church officials have often voiced concern that they have been losing too many congregation members to foreign religions.
The law recognizes four official faiths _ Russian Orthodoxy along with a few other Christian denominations, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism _ and requires all other religious organizations to register in order to operate here.
These other groups have until Jan. 1 to receive their registration. If they don't, local officials have the right to liquidate the assets of their operations and it becomes illegal for their members to congregate for religious purposes.
The Salvation Army, which returned to Russia in 1991 after having been expelled by the Bolsheviks in 1923, sees the law as unfair. It currently works in 14 Russian cities, running both Christian worship services and social programs like soup kitchens and hospice centers, and it has successfully registered in five towns.
However, the group's success elsewhere hasn't helped it receive its paperwork to minister to Moscow's 10 million inhabitants.
"We have been asked whether we are Christians and how we can prove it," Ballie said. "We haven't done anything untoward in the nine years we've been here, (but) for some mysterious reason . . . because of one official, our ministry might end."
The Moscow City official in charge of registration, Viktor Korolyov, did not return phone calls seeking comment on the case.
Although officially it has until Monday to continue work, the Salvation Army had to stop its meals-on-wheels program last week when the Moscow City social services department terminated the agreement that provided the group with delivery vehicles and locations from which to operate.
Despite the uncertainty, the Salvation Army is not thinking of pulling
out of Russia, Ballie said. He is hoping to receive national registration,
a parallel process allowed under the 1997 law that would supercede decisions
by municipalities and allow his group to operate in any Russian city. This
decision is expected from the Ministry of Justice in late February. (Copyright
2000 Cox News Service, posted 4 January 2001)
On the brink of the new year Russian President Vladimir Putin met with representatives of small, middle, and large business, the creative intelligentsia, and clergymen, as well as the poorest strata of working class Jews.
At the entrance the public was greeted by polite security guards, "Lechaim" magazines, and yarmulkes for forgetful men. In the room on the second floor alongside the enormous menorah--the ritual candlestick with eight candles--stood a resplendent portable lectern with a double-headed eagle. Not far away from it stood State Duma deputy from Buriat Aginsk autonomous region Iosif Kobzon in a light suit. About the room strolled insurance man Boris Khait, movie director Alexander Faifman, gallery owner Aidan Salakhova, and entrepreneur Efim Faveliukis.
However the atmosphere of the secular celebration clashed with the abundance of hassids in broad brimmed hats as well as with the fact that almost all the other men wore yarmulkes. On the whole the crowd was not homogeneous. There were many children and youth, eligible young women, some Americans and Israelis, but the majority, of course, were Muscovites, including the traditional parishioners of the synagogue at Marina Roshche, dressed more than modestly. In the room where services usually are conducted I counted about thirty tables at which no fewer than 300 persons were seated. One of the tables was set apart. As the place tags indicated, the celebration of Hanukkah in one of the Moscow synagogues was supposed to be attended not only by the president of Russia but also former prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Israeli ambassador Natan Meron. The party was scheduled to begin at eight, but the exalted guests were late and a young hassid invited the guests to begin drinking and eating.
They feasted well. They enjoyed Israeli wines, "Gzhelka," stuffed fish, traditional doughnuts, and fruit, as well as four musicians, who loudly and not very skillfully tried to form an ensemble, and the singer Efim Alexandrov. Efim sang very loudly traditional Jewish songs and tried to make jokes. "This song is dedicated to all Ukrainian Jews. I, of course, apologize to those from Belarus." It came out clumsily. All hassids of the synagogue in CIS are financed by the "Or Avner" foundation, established by a native of Tashkent, Lev Levaev.
Bypassing the obligatory stuffed fish, those who were feasting in the synagogue clearly were awaiting the appearance of the main course of the evening. The first sign of the arrival of the dear guests were the tall, somewhat unsteady, swarthy youths in whom an Israeli eye could instantly recognize the guards of the security service. After them the public met the recent premier of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, with his wife Sara and Israeli ambassador to Russia Meron. The Israelis greeted Berl Lazar, whom the hassidic congregations consider the chief rabbi of Russia, the chairman of the board of trustees of the Federation of Jewish Organizations of Russia (FEOR), Lev Levaev, and the president of FEOR, Mikhail Gluz.
Soon the room was entered by burly persons of the political campaigns with wires sticking out of their ears. They began to organize the movement of several dozen operators. From the balcony, where at the times of synagogue services the women are located, reporters, forgetting propriety, happily pointed fingers below, identifying famous persons. The most famous person appeared a half hour after the press.
The room stood up and applauded. A closely shaven young man who had sat down across from me at a neighboring table, wearing a yarmulke that constantly fell over his forehead, raised high his telephone so that his neighbor could better hear the triumphant voice of the master of ceremonies: "President of the Russian federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin!" The security guards dispersed the operators, photographers, and extremely curious Jews, and Putin sat down at a table with the Netanyahu couple, Meron, Lazar, Levaev, Gluz, and his chief of protocol, Vladimir Rakhmanin. This was not the first time the president was in this company; he had opened the community center at Marina Roshche in September, and Lazar had met Putin several times, including when he was prime minister, and Gluz was one of Putin's trusted persons during the presidential elections. Justice requires that it be said that there also were several young and amused Israeli girls at the same table.
The time for speeches and ceremonies arrived. First Berl Lazar spoke briefly, recalling the historical basis for the celebration of Hanukkah, and then Putin. The president said everything that should be said. About how in the history of Russia there had been times when not all confessions by any means had been able openly to express their position and have recourse to their sacred places. About how Russia is developing as a democratic state where much has become possible. About how Hanukkah is the victory of spirit, without which it is impossible to build either a strong society or a strong state. About how it is impossible to reject millions of Israelis who once were soviet and Russian citizens, who are not social outcasts but partners and friends. Putin thanked everybody who had created the community center and wished happiness not only to the Jews of Russia but to all of our people, after which he took a candle and walked over to the eight candlesticks along with Lazar.
The ceremony of the lighting of the menorah was accompanied by an ovation and shouts of "Lechaim." This seemed just like the conclusion of a komsomol conference and some scenes out of popular films like "Once upon a time in America" or "To kill a Dutchman." The public still had not lost its emotional edge when Netanyahu approached the microphone.
Bibi looks very much like the stage singer Valery Meladze, tall, slightly fat, and unhurried, although his pudginess instantly disappears during public speeches. Despite all of the translator's attempts, who sometimes simply managed only half of what the ex-premier said and sometimes simply was dumbfounded (during one such moments Netanyahu shouted at him--"translate!"), Bibi energetically and understandably delivered to the crowd everything that he wanted to say to the Russian Jews of the Likhud party. After properly speaking about how the times were changing for Russian Jews, with splendid gestures he moved on to the most important issue, the common enemy called "terrorism." "But if the source of your threats is located 25 kilometers away," Bibi said, clearly underestimating Russian space, "then ours is 25 meters. And in the struggle with terrorists one must observe two main rules: do not fear terrorists and destroy them mercilessly. This has nothing to do with peace. Peace and terrorism are incompatible."
The room rejoiced, and Lazar and Levaev presented Netanyahu a menorah made by Gzhelka artists. As became clear several minutes later, Bibi's speech inspired Putin to make another speech. He was more uninhibited and energetic. He recalled his trip to Israel and a waiter born in Isreal who spoke perfect Russian. But the main thing was that Netanyahu's oratorical art has achieved its purpose: "Much of what Netanyahu has said I would not be able to say in my position, but I share it. How is it possible to place a bomb in a school bus knowing that this is a school bus?"
At the end of the official part the crowd relaxed, turning to the turkey and lamb. Some hot heads, making the security guards nervous, like Roman legionaires on duty, tried to have themselves photographed against a background of Putin and Netanyahu. However the security service was most annoyed by a seven-year-old boy who persistently tried to get up on the stand where the menorah was. It seemed that the happy Jews were about to begin dancing but it did not happen, although the example was set not by just anybody but by Berl Lazar. Lazar began to dance accompanied by the indefatigable Efim Aleksandrov, who, fortunately, moved better than he sang. The leader of the Russian followers of the Lubavich rebbe danced, as befits a real hassid, lightly and fervently.
Lazar has reason to be happy with life. Berl Lazar, the thirty-six-year-old father of nine children, without doubt is the most obvious and successful religious Jewish leader in Russia. At one time his synagogue was a tiny wooden building. Now the largest community center in Europe has been built in Marina Roshche. A native of Italy and an American citizen, Lazar received Russian citizenship a week before his election by the Federation of Jewish Congregations as chief rabbi of Russia. The main donor to the Chabad Lubavich movement in the former USSR from the beginning of the 90s was Lev Levaev, whom, for some reason, nobody calls an oligarch although he is the largest diamond trader of Russia and Israel. In June of this year FEOR and the Ministry of Culture signed an agreement on cooperation, as a result of which the hassids were supposed to receive moveable and immoveable monuments of hassidism as their property. The president of Russia selected him, Lazar, as the chief representative of Russian Jews and not Adolf Shaevich, who is supported by the Russian Jewish Congress.
The eruption of mass celebration after Lazar set an example for some reason did not ensue. Nobody supported the rabbi, but Netanyahu rhythmically drew a bow over a violin and continued his unhurried conversation with the Russian president. The president drank red Israeli wine.
Putin spoke once more before leaving the synagogue. From the last speech it transpired that he had been in Israel twice. In Israel he had heard Russian folk tunes about which he had been told that it was Israeli folk music. "I hope that in Russia there will set in such a comfortable atmosphere that the smallest nation will know that there is no single question in the sphere of history, religion, language, and culture that will be resolved without the its participation, however small the nation," the president said to the applause of the room. Putin spent more than two hours in the synagogue. Upon his departure he was presented a menorah, at which he said: "The light and good which flows from the menorah will lighten the Kremlin."
It would be interesting to know what is being lighted by the menorah that Lazar and Levaev gave to Putin a year ago, on 25 November 1999.
After the rapid departure of the head of state and the presidential security guard, the persistent boy finally reached the menorah and began dancing beneath it in proud solitude. The crowd moved on to the fruit and desserts, and began departing around midnight. It seems that everyone was left satisfied. Everybody achieved what he wanted: Berl Lazar established his control of Russian synagogues, Lev Levaev is selling diamonds, Vladimir Putin has conquered Media-Most, Bibi Netanyahu fought for the votes of the Russian ally in the upcoming Israeli elections. Russian Jews are happy with the attention given them by the president of Russia. "This is staggering," one of my neighbors at the table, a Brooklyn rabbi, said. "I do not remember when was the last time Clinton was in a synagogue. And was Yeltsin ever in a synagogue?" (tr. by PDS, posted 28 December 2000)
The Basman procuracy has opened a criminal case concerning the attack on the executive director of the Federation of Jewish Congregations (FEOR) of CIS, Rabbi Abraham Berkovich, which, as already reported in Kommersant, was committed in the great choral synagogue. The investigators have classified the attempt to drown Mr. Berkovich in the ritual bath as hooliganism.
We recall that Mr. Berkovich, who had come to the great choral synagogue to pray, was attacked by three unidentified persons dressed in uniforms of security guards. They dragged him into the basement and plunged his head into the ritual bath. The rabbi was held under water until he lost consciousness.
The victim was taken to the American Medical Center, where doctors observed on him "breaks in the mucous membrane of the esophagus and trachea characteristic of drowning, stomach and abdominal bleeding, trauma to the right hand, and post-traumatic psychological shock."
"I am sure that they didn't want to frighten me but to kill me," Mr. Berkovich says. "You know, they held me under water until I stopped resisting. Then they held me several more seconds to be sure and then the bandits apparently decided that I had choked. Only after this did they run off." By the next day, fearing new attempts, the rabbi sent his family to Israel and wrote a statement for the police.
The incident in the chief Moscow synagogue produced an enormous response. Lubavich hassids (of which the victim was one) are convinced that the attack on Mr. Berkovich was conducted on the basis of religious hostility. "Every time we come to the choral synagogue we are treated with hostility on the part of the leaders," the executive vice president of FEOR, Alexander Boroda, told Kommersant. "Why is not clear. After all adherents of the hassid movement in Judaism constitute almost 75% of all Jews who live on the territory of CIS. And we do not have any disagreements on principle in religious matters with representatives of classical, or non-hassidic, Judaism. Of course, there are some differences, but this is no reason to drown a man."
The Basman procuracy tried to investigate the conflict between representatives of the two branches of the Judaic faith. "The incident of the attack on Berkovich we categorize as hooliganism committed by a group of persons," investigator Olga Tatarinov told Kommersant. "But it is still to early to talk about who committed the attack and for what reason. There still are not even any results of the examination of the victim by our expert analysts. After all stomach bleeding, of which the physicians at the American Medical Center write, could happen not as the result of trauma but as the consequence of chronic illnesses." (tr. by PDS, posted 28 December 2000)
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