The chief rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, who resigned from his position in July 2022, believes that it is now dangerous for Jews to remain in Russia.

They can be made "scapegoats" for the problems caused by the war in Ukraine.

He stated this in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian. 

According to him, the history of Russia shows that when the political system is in danger, the government tries to redirect the anger and discontent of the masses to the Jewish community.

"We saw this during the tsarist times and at the end of the Stalinist regime," noted the former chief rabbi of Moscow, who resigned and left Russia.

He explained his decision by the fact that community leaders were pressured to support the war against Ukraine, but he refused to do so. 

"I resigned because remaining in the position of chief rabbi of Moscow would be a problem for the community due to the repressive measures taken against dissidents," he explained.

Pinchas Goldschmidt argues that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Russia because Russia is returning to a "new type of Soviet Union."

"Step by step, the iron curtain is coming down again.

That is why I believe that the best option for Russian Jews is to leave," he emphasized.

It will be recalled that after the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Jews born in Ukraine who survived the Holocaust and lost loved ones in Babyny Yar recorded a video appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a call to leave the country.

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