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Moscow’s former chief rabbi: ‘The best option for Russian Jews is to leave’
(JTA) — Pinchas Goldshmidt, the former chief rabbi of Moscow who fled the country earlier this year, said other Russian Jews should leave before it’s too late in an interview with the Guardian.
“When we look back over Russian history, whenever the political system was in danger you saw the government trying to redirect the anger and discontent of the masses towards the Jewish community,” Goldschmidt told the Guardian. “We saw this in tsarist times and at the end of the Stalinist regime.”
He argued that Russia’s floundering invasion of Ukraine is starting to foster a similar environment.
“We’re seeing rising antisemitism while Russia is going back to a new kind of Soviet Union, and step by step the Iron Curtain is coming down again. This is why I believe the best option for Russian Jews is to leave,” Goldschmidt said.
Goldschmidt, who was born in Switzerland but has been serving Russian Jewry since 1989, left the country in June, nearly four months after Russia began its invasion. He said that he was being pressured to support the invasion and feared the impact his refusal might have on Moscow’s Jewish community.
“Pressure was put on community leaders to support the war and I refused to do so. I resigned because to continue as chief rabbi of Moscow would be a problem for the community because of the repressive measures taken against dissidents,” he said.
However, others in Russia have denied that claim, including the director of Moscow’s Choral Synagogue which reelected him chief rabbi almost immediately after he left.
Other Jewish leaders in Russia have remained in the country, such as Berel Lazar, a rabbi affiliated with the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement who despite long being seen as close to Putin has spoken out against the war.
But Jews, like Russians of all ethnicities, have been fleeing Russia en masse since the war began in late February. In August, it was estimated that more than 20,000 of Russia’s 165,000 Jews had fled the country.
“There’s a section of Russian society called the creacle, the creative class of business and cultural leaders, intellectuals and artists,” Goldschmidt said, “and I think it’s safe to say a great percentage of those people have left Russia, which is and will be very detrimental to Russian society.”
During the interview with the Guardian, Goldschmidt, who is also the president of the Conference of European rabbis, additionally discussed other issues facing European Jewry, such as rising antisemitism around the world, and how the state of European Jewry compares to the situation for Jews in the United States.
“For many years, Jews in the U.S. believed that it was an exception, that whatever happened in Europe and other countries could never happen there,” Goldschmidt said. “But over the past three years there have been more attacks on Jews there than in Europe.
“What is changing is the political system is much more polarized but also the discourse has been upended by social media. The polarization we’re seeing has made antisemitism much more acceptable.”
During the interview, Goldschmit also praised Ukraine’s Jewish community, denying Putin’s line that it is Nazi state.
“Show me another country that is in the grip of Nazis where the Jewish community is thriving,” Goldschmidt said.
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Nigeria Seeks French Help to Combat Insecurity, Macron Says
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings from schools and a church.
US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.
Nigeria is grappling with a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.
Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.
The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.
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Netanyahu Says He Will Not Quit Politics if He Receives a Pardon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would not retire from politics if he receives a pardon from the country’s president in his years-long corruption trial.
Asked by a reporter if planned on retiring from political life if he receives a pardon, Netanyahu replied: “no”.
Netanyahu last month asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon, with lawyers for the prime minister arguing that frequent court appearances were hindering Netanyahu’s ability to govern and that a pardon would be good for the country.
Pardons in Israel have typically been granted only after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted. There is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in response to the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and his lawyers have said that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings, if concluded, would result in a complete acquittal.
US President Donald Trump wrote to Herzog, before Netanyahu made his request, urging the Israeli president to consider granting the prime minister a pardon.
Some Israeli opposition politicians have argued that any pardon should be conditional on Netanyahu retiring from politics and admitting guilt. Others have said the prime minister must first call national elections, which are due by October 2026.
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Report: Washington Hosts Trilateral Talks Between Israel and Qatar After Doha Strike
A Qatari flag is seen at a park near the Doha Corniche, in Doha, Qatar, Feb. 17, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Ibraheem al Omari.
i24 News – The United States, Israel, and Qatar convened a high-level trilateral meeting in New York on Sunday aimed at restoring strained relations following a controversial Israeli strike in Doha, Axios reports.
The meeting marks the highest-level engagement between the three nations since Qatar helped mediate the ceasefire that ended the war in Gaza. The talks coincide with the Trump administration’s plans to announce a new phase of the Gaza peace initiative.
The meeting is being chaired by White House envoy Steve Witkoff, with Israel represented by Mossad chief David Barnea and a senior Qatari official also participating, according to sources cited by Axios.
Tensions between the countries escalated after Israeli jets struck Hamas leaders in Doha on September 9. While the top Hamas figures survived, a Qatari security guard was killed, prompting Qatar to temporarily step back from its mediating role. The incident drew widespread Arab criticism of Israel and pressure on the United States to intervene. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later apologized to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at President Trump’s urging, allowing Qatar to resume its mediation role, though mistrust has persisted.
The New York talks are part of a US-proposed trilateral framework designed to improve coordination, resolve disputes, and strengthen joint security efforts. Sources indicate that Netanyahu is expected to raise concerns over Qatar’s alleged support for the Muslim Brotherhood, critical coverage of Israel by Al Jazeera, and Qatari influence on American university campuses.
Despite these issues, the core focus of the discussions is expected to be the implementation of the Gaza peace agreement, including the disarmament of Hamas — a key element of the second phase of the plan.