Former Moscow Chief Rabbi branded 'foreign agent' by Russia

“This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a religious leader has been declared a foreign agent and defined by the Russian government as a hostile threat.”

“It’s very likely that this will mean the start of a new antisemitic campaign against the Jewish community in Russia. I’ve previously called on the local Jewish community to leave the country before it’s too late.”

Pinchas Goldschmidt, who was the Chief Rabbi of Moscow since 1993, left his home in Moscow in the wake of Putin's invasion after being pressured to support the war.

He told members of the House of Lords last year that Russia had overnight transformed “from an authoritarian country to a semi-totalitarian country”.

Goldschmidt, who now lives in Israel, grew up in Switzerland, and moved to the USSR in 1989 and worked to rebuild the Jewish community after the fall of communism.