Rabbi Moshe Azman is seen at the dedication of a symbolic synagogue at Babyn Yar, site of a World War II Nazi massacre of Jews, in May 2021. Photo: Reuters/Gleb Garanich

One of Ukraine’s senior rabbis has urged the Jewish community in Russia to leave immediately, insisting that the country is sliding back into totalitarian rule under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin.

“Today I would advise the Jewish communities of Russia to leave the country, and many are already doing so,” Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, stated during an extensive interview on Wednesday with the Voice of America broadcaster.

The 55-year-old Azman, who was born in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, warned that the Russian government might actively prevent Jews from departing, as was the case during the Soviet era. “I was in the Soviet Union and tried for many years to go to Israel,” he said. “Therefore, when everything closes, it will be difficult to leave. The rhetoric in Russia is very dangerous. The rhetoric there now is worse than the Soviet Union.”

Just under 200,000 Jews live in Russia, making the community the seventh-largest in the world. According to the Jewish Agency, 5,600 have made aliyah to Israel in the weeks since the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Azman bitterly criticized Russia’s propaganda campaign against Ukraine, which centers on the outlandish claim that the Ukrainian leadership and armed forces are composed of “neo-Nazis” and that Russia is engaged in a “denazification” operation.

He pointed out that several historic Jewish sites in Ukraine had been badly damaged by Russian rocket attacks, among them the historic Hlukhiv cemetery in the north-eastern city of Sumy, which was struck on Sunday. Azman said he had posted videos of the attack on social media, commenting sarcastically alongside that Russian forces had “denazified the Jewish cemetery in Hlukhiv.”

The Russians had “denazified” Babyn Yar outside Kyiv, where more than 33,000 Jews were massacred in Sept. 1941, as well as “Jewish graves in Berkovtsy, Kharkiv, Bila Tserkva; this is called ‘denazification,'” said Azman.

“They themselves act like Nazis,” he continued. “So who do they ‘denazify?’ They kill people, torture, rape. This is called ‘denazification.’ They invented this theory to justify their crimes.”

Commenting on last week’s scandal involving Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s claim that “Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood,” Azman dismissed the subsequent apology which the Israeli government said Putin had offered during a phone call with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

“Of course not,” Azman responded when asked if Putin’s apology was enough. “First, he apologized to Israel. This was not heard inside Russia, while what Lavrov said was most likely for an internal audience.”

Asked about criticism of Israel for its reluctance to provide military aid to Ukraine, Azman said he understood it, emphasizing that he had “repeatedly asked” Israel to provide Ukraine with its “Iron Dome” anti-missile system. However, he added, “I also understand Israel,” given the extent of Russian influence in the Middle East.

Continued Azman: “Russia’s leadership has blackmailed Israel and continues to blackmail. Israel is fighting for its survival just like Ukraine. There is Syria, Hezbollah, Iran. There is Iranian influence, bandits from Hezbollah and Hamas, many of them, this is the Middle East.” He said he was encouraged to see that “Israel has begun to understand that Ukraine is fighting not only for Ukraine, it is fighting for the whole free world, including Israel. Russia’s appetite is not limited to Ukraine. I think many are beginning to understand this.”

In a separate appeal to the Israeli government on Wednesday, a Jewish fighter participating in the deadly battles against Russian troops at the Azovstal steelworks in the city of Mariupol called on the Jewish state to assist with their withdrawal.

In a message posted on Instagram, Barabash Oleksandrovych — nicknamed “Benya” —  said it was “difficult for me to speak due to severe injuries, contusions, and serious illnesses, so my brother in arms will speak for me on behalf of all Ukrainian Jews who are here with me in the Azovstal factory.”

Recalling how “our Ukrainian ancestors suffered from the genocide of Stalin and how our Jewish ancestors suffered from Hitler,” Oleksandrovych wrote that “we need Israel’s help in withdrawing the entire Mariupol military garrison, and we call for rescue.”

He stressed that the Israelis, “like no one else, have the power to do that. We, like no one else, have hope in you. We are already waiting for you. We are already writing history.”